A voice of optimism

Dawn.com — March 23, 2005
by Hasan Abidi

A journalist can also be a good poet but in Akhtar Saeedi's case he was a poet first and journalist later. His poetry collection 'Hava, Chiragh Aena' was launched last Thursday (March 17) and was attended by a large number of poets and writers.

Saeedi's preface caught the attention of most speakers who found in the poet a courageous, resolute and self-reliant person. Son of poet Jauhar Saeedi, Akhtar spent his early years in comfort but then misfortune fell and Saeedi in his formative years had to look for odd jobs to feed the family. But he never lost hope and courage as also his dignity and self-respect. Shahida Hasan speaking about Saeedi's poetry quoted the following:

Rawan dawan hai zindagi chiragh ke baghair bhi
Hai merey ghar mein roshni, chiragh ke baghair bhi.

Among others who spoke were Khawja Razi Haider, Hasan Akbar Kamal, Shahnaz Shoro and Jazib Qureshi, the last being more influenced by Saeedi's prose than his poetry, and this fact had its own logic. Jazib himself had a difficult life as a child and showed his promise as a poet, critic and literary journalist.

Azfar Rizvi, an educationist, remembered that he too had faced financial straits, after being uprooted from Bangladesh in the '70s. Saeedi's poetry based on love for humanity and the culture of Sindh was admirable, he said.

Jazib Qureshi suggested the compilation and publication of Saeedi's interviews with literary personalities over the years, and recalled how in the past he had written regular literary column for a daily but unjustly dislodged by another writer - and he named the person who sat right in front of him.

That did not seem to be the right occasion for the airing of personal grievances and accusing another writer. The function nevertheless concluded amicably.

http://www.dawn.com/2005/03/23/fea.htm#2

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