Faiz’s poetry gives call for revolution

PATNA: A two-day national seminar on the theme “Faiz Ahmad Faiz: Person and Poet” was inaugurated at the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library on Saturday as part of the birth centenary of the renowned Urdu poet. Delegates from Delhi, Lucknow, Aligarh, Kolkata, Hyderabad and different places in Bihar are attending the seminar.
Welcoming the guests, library director Imtiaz Ahmad highlighted the significance of Faiz’s contribution to Urdu poetry.He averred that Faiz presented a unique combination between traditional Urdu poetry and contemporary politico-social issues.
Delivering the keynote address, eminent Urdu littérateur Lutfur Rahman comprehensively discussed the personality and poetry of Faiz. He said that initially Faiz followed the romanticism of poets like Akhtar Shirani, but gradually chalked out a new and distinct path which inspired a complete generation of Urdu poets, notably Sahir Ludhianvi, Jan Nisar Akhtar, Makhdum Mohiuddin and Ahmad Faraz.
Rahman further stated that Faiz’s poetry reflects not only dissent and anti-establishment but gives a clarion call for revolution. However, although Faiz was progressive, he was not a Marxist. He cited several verses of Faiz to prove his point. He concluded by stating that Faiz was deeply influenced by Allama Iqbal, and this fact needs to be probed and analysed further.
Urdu critic Wahab Ashrafi, in his presidential address, observed that Faiz was influenced by Marx in his thoughts and by Browning in his style. So, he spoke about problems affecting his society but chose the style of Western poets.
In the first academic session, three papers were presented by Shanaz Nabi (Kolkata), Mushtaque Ahmad (Darbhanga) and Mushtaq Sadaf (New Delhi).