Daily Times

Poetry reveals the secrets of the soul. It shows a longing, a desire to be with someone, to be somewhere. More than a form of art, poetry is an expression. The words poets write represents their innate thoughts that fill their hearts. It displays to the world their emotions that they could not express otherwise. Poets need to follow their thoughts and explain their emotions through rhyme and rhythm. Aasia Majeed from Rahim Yar Khan is one such poetess who has the flair of playing with words. She writes each word with a purpose. She incorporates all of her feelings in each of her poems.

Aasia Majeed is a student of MPhil at the Khawaja Farid University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan. She lives in Sadiqabad; a city where resources and opportunities are limited, however, Aasia’s will to learn remains unrestrained.

An international poetry anthology “Lyrical Dewdrops” published her poem “Oh My Loneliness”. Her poem “Infinite Sensation” is also part of an upcoming anthology, “Source of Peace” composed by Nigerian poets. She was also featured in The Kolkata Review for her poem, “My Destiny Is You”. Other poems written by Aasia that have made it to the international level include My Hunter (Create something for the future, USA), A Mourning Song (Sending love to moon), “Castilian memories” (Selected for poetry recitation in UK Dear John Show.) “Am I A Monster” (selected by director Paul Broderick to be converted into a poetry film at the Ó Bhéal International Poetry-Film Competition.) Selected entries were shortlisted from 199 entries from 33 countries, including all six continents.

An international poetry anthology ‘Lyrical Dewdrops’ published her poem ‘Oh My Loneliness’. Her poem ‘Infinite Sensation’ is also part of an upcoming anthology ‘Source of Peace’ composed by Nigerian poets. She was also featured in The Kolkata Review for her poem ‘My Destiny Is You’

In 2015, she received an award of excellence from the weekly Akhbar Akbar. Moreover, at the Ahmedabad International Literature Festival (ALIF), Aasia’s poem was selected through a strict screening process for the ALIF International Poetry Contest. She was one of the winners with her poem, “Frigid Human like Frosty Winter” In August 2019 she received recognition from the WNWU in Kazakhstan. This award was given to her works of excellence in the field of literature.

She has won On Fire International Competition and her poem “Frigid human like frosty winter” will be featured in the upcoming Aatish- 2 anthology. Her poem will be published in the collection that will include the words of stalwarts like Gulzar and Javed Akhtar.

Aasia’s poetry takes readers to a world where she asks questions and replies to them through deep introspection. She writes in her poem, Peacekeeper: When words are injured/And silence drowses in the dark of pessimism/With deep screaming/Even the breathing sound seems to be plagued. Her winning entry from the ALIF Poetry Contest exposes humanity’s dark side. She writes, in “Frigid human like frosty winter”: At some distance I witnessed/A group of people dancing and enjoying/With loud music and songs/But with a single blow everything changed in a fleeting moment/Dead bodies drenched in blood everywhere/No one stopped/My heart wept the tears of blood.

Through her writing, Aasia reveals the craving of the soul to connect with another soul on Earth, to live in harmony and in peace. However, all she finds is a murky existence that she translates in words through her poems. In her poem, “Oh my Loneliness!” she pens her heart out. She writes, She forced me to welcome her again,/And asked me why I was sad/So she could get rid of my gloom,/And make me smile like a full moon.

In 2019, “Lasosyasyon Lar San Frontyer” an international literary and art society recognised by the government of Republic of Seychelles honoured Aasia Majeed for her contributions to poetry with excellence. Through her writings, she always tries to reflect social issues specially related to women.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist. He can be reached at omariftikhar@hotmail.com and Tweets at @omarifikhtar