In a highly engaging talk titled 'My Poetic Experience', renowned poet Ahmad Faraz addressed students, faculty, staff and distinguished guests at Aga Khan University (AKU) on 28 April 2004. He regaled the audience with anecdotes from his past that were instrumental in chiselling his poetic talents.
Ahmad Faraz recalled how his father, a teacher and a poet of Urdu and Persian, once bought chequered coat for him on Eid, and a suit for his brother. The then budding poet did not like his clothes but was impressed by the ones bought for his elder brother. That was when he composed his first couplet:
Layen hain sab ke liye kapde sale se
Layen hain hamare liye kambal jail se
(He has bought clothes for everyone from sale. And for me he has bought a blanket from jail.)
Faraz's earliest Muse and instigator proved to be a girl from school who was trying to teach him mathematics. She enjoyed Bait-bazi (a game where one person recites a couplet and then other person responds with another couplet that starts with the last letter of the first couplet) and competed with Faraz. Adept at the game, the girl continued to win until Faraz started to create his own couplets and she couldn't out do him.
At the end of the talk Faraz's voice melodiously resounded as he read out sections from his poetry, much to the delight of the audience. Equally lively was the question and answer session where the audience further explored different nuances of Faraz's poetic experiences.
Earlier, Dr. David Taylor, Acting Provost, AKU, introduced the speaker by quoting American poet and writer Mary Mcanally's views on Faraz, "Ahmad Faraz is a peoples' poet. He speaks in the metaphors of prophecy and vision that transcends rhetoric and narrow nationalism. He is truly an international poet, a pan-humanist of the rarest sort. Rare because his poems are love poems, even when they decry, denounce, lament or accuse." The audience at the Special Series Lecture (SLS) enjoyed an opportunity to interact with the "peoples' poet" and at the end gave him a standing ovation.
AKU's primary mission is the development of quality human resources that are trained to respond to the unique needs of the developing world. This lecture by Ahmad Faraz was part of AKU Special Lecture Series, which features talks by prominent personalities with the aim of providing students with a broad-based education to enrich their understanding and appreciation of the humanities and social sciences. Interaction with distinguished personalities also benefits the faculty, staff and the general public.
