PESHAWAR: The Gandhara Hindko Academy arranged a special function, to mark the 80th death anniversary of the great Hindko language mystic poet, Sain Ahmad Ali.
The Nowshera Girls Medical College Principal, Dr Samina Zahid, was the chief guest on the occasion. A senior Hindko writer, poet and lyricist, Syed Saeed Gillani, presided over the programme.
The Director of the Gandhara Hindko Academy, Dr Zaffar Iqbal, welcomed the people who had turned up at the event and belonged to various walks of life.
Some among them were Professor Nasir Daud, Nazeer Hussain Shah Kasailvi, Faridullah Qureshi, Sikandar Hayat, Samina Advocate, Robina Advocate, Hafizullah, Tauqeer Ahmad, Adnan Zahoor Awan, Akhtar Naeem, and trade community representative, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi.
The speakers shed light on the life and works of Sain Ahmad Ali, who was born in the walled city of Peshawar, in 1842 and died in 1937.
They said the great Hindko language Sufi poet in his verses, portrayed human feelings as he enjoyed command over the arrangement of words, metaphors and allegories.
The speakers said apart from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sain Ahmad Ali had a considerable following in the Potohar region, where his poetic verses were recited with reverence.
A noted Hindko language writer, poet and research scholar, Muhammad Ziauddin said that Sain Baba had an exalted status in the mystic poetry.
He said the poetic compositions of Sain Ahmad Ali ran into thousands but only a fraction of those could reach this time through oral traditions.
Ziauddin said the Gandhara Hindko Board had realised this fact and started publishing books on the life and poetry of Sain Baba along with producing a documentary film on him.
He said a portion of Sain Baba’s poetry had also been translated into Urdu and Pushto and published in the form of two books and promised more efforts towards that end.
Ziauddin said the Gandhara Hindko Board, which ran the Gandhara Hindko Academy under the public-private partnership, had published 140 books, since its inception in 1993.
He said more books — 100 in number — were in the pipeline. He added that the Gandhara Hindko Academy had the honour of publishing 17 regular publications.
The chief guest, Dr Samina Zahid, said that the poetry of all the mystics revolved around peace and tolerance. She said there was a need to highlight the works of the sufi poets of various Pakistani languages to promote peace and tolerance in the society.
The organizers had set up different stalls on the lawn of the academy that displayed Hindko language books, publications, digital resource material and various household items placed at the cultural museum set up at the academy.
Ahmad Nadeem Awam and others rendered the poetry of Sain Ahmad Ali with music which was appreciated by the participants.