'Sehra Main Azaan' (Call to prayer in the desert) was the new poetic collection launched by Chaudhry Mohammad Sadiq at the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) through the support of the literary organisation Imkan in Islamabad.
Chief Iftikhar Arif presided over the ceremony. People who attended the occasion included Hakim Sarv Sharanpuri as the chief guest, poets such as Professor Ihsan Akbar, Jamil Yusuf and academician Musarrat Azhar. Hakim Sarv Saharanpuri spoke on the occasion supporting the viewpoint of the poet that the Muslims should take a stance against cultural differences aimed at changing the idea of an Islamic society and distorting the teachings of the Holy Quran.
Appraising the book by various speakers, came to the conclusion that the poet brought a light back to the spiritual yearning and the return of the beauty of Islam. Some people were nervous about the title of the book, keeping in mind the fact that the poet had lived most of his life in the western environment, which was hostile to Muslims.
But Iftikhair Arif dismissed this notion by highlighting the strong and honest individuality of Muslims living abroad, who do appreciate the challenges while living away from one's homeland, and have proved themselves to be good and responsible citizens of those lands. And they fully understood they need to have a good grasp of the meaning of their religion.
Muslims academicians living abroad have launched a programme to create a better understanding of the teachings of the Holy Quran. Arif pointed out Salim Ahmad's famous line about the poet giving prayer call in the desert, waiting for the response from the people. Simultaneously, Chaudhry Sadiq's poetry calls out to us to return the light of our religion in an environment best described as commonplace, hence the title of the book is well placed.
The poet, belonging to central Punjab, lives in South Carolina, USA.
An anthology of writers' agony on quake was published by the Pakistan Academy of Letters in the wake of the terrible earthquake which struck Pakistan and Azad Kashmir on October 8, 2005. The book contains 916 pages, called 'Aath Aktober; Tahreer re Ayeeney Main', and had been edited by Dr Ihsan Akbar, Mansha Yad, Hameed Shahed, Athar Tahir, Mushir Anwar, Meem Alif Shafaq, Wahid Buzdar, Javad Jafary, Akhtar Shaikh, Paras Abbas and Tariq Shahed under the guidance of chief editor Iftikhar Arif.
The book reflects the work of the writers in 12 languages of the country, including Urdu, Sindhi, Pushto, Balochi, Brahvi, Kashmiri, Hindko, Punjabi, Gojri, Pahari, and Brushaski and in English. The Urdu poetry contains 213 poems, being the largest section, in addition to prose covering short stories and reportages.
It's the first book ever to be published to reflect the pain and agony of the Pakistani as a whole and combined sorrow felt by all, but spoken by few, as the mere memory of it brings with it a strong sense of sadness. Nearly everyone was affected by the quake in one form or another. It takes a lot of effort to put on paper the reminder of the death of nearly 100,000 of their countrymen, capturing the mood of the people to rise to the occasion and unify as a single entity.
A ten day 5th national children mountain conservation meet-2006 ended this week in Islamabad. The trek was aimed at creating awareness amongst the youngsters about the uniqueness and importance of the mountain ecosystem. The meet was organised by the Adventure Foundation Pakistan (AFP) an NGO in affiliation with the International Year of Mountain and attended by 120 children between the age group of 11 to 14 years.
The meet was held in the Neelum valley. The children were taken to different sites in the mountainous areas where they actively participated in different environmental projects including study of flora and fauna, organising waste collection sites and tree plantation on the slopes of the mountains. They were also made to visit local schools and discuss the environmental issues with the students and also participated in a painting and photography exhibition.
A function was arranged to celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Japanese Self-defence Forces Day hosted by the ambassador of Japan, Nobuaki Tanaka. General Ehsan ul Haq, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee was the Chief guest. There were two officers representing the Japanese Self Defence Forces, Colonel Makoto Shimasue and Colonel Makoto Kasamatsu, Colonel Shimasue leaving and Colonel Kasamatsu being the new representative. Both were dressed elegantly in their gorgeous kimonos.
The Self Defence Forces Day is celebrated to honour the establishment of the Japanese Defence Agency and the inauguration of Japan's Self Defence Forces, which include all three arms of the military. After the horrors of World War II, the Japanese have made a conscious effort to establish themselves as a peace loving nation, to ensure not to repeat the mistakes of the past, having severely suffered the consequences.
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