Aalmi Urdu Conference has now become an important part of our calendar. This year also the conference was hosted by Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi aimed to promote literature and culture among the masses. The Aalmi Urdu Conference first took place in 2008 and since then people from all walks of life men, women, and children, young and old attend the conference to hear word of knowledge from writers, poets, scholars and critics of Urdu language not only from Pakistan but from other countries also. They gather each year to share their love for Urdu and Urdu literature with others.
The 11th Aalmi Urdu Conference at Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi was commenced with an opening address by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. He said that Urdu literature, through poems and prose, has always tried to foster a sense of community among people of different languages, religions and sects. Urdu is the language of love and fraternity. It has the ability to remove the communication barriers among people of different languages and has enabled people of Pakistan to interact easily with each other.
Karachi Arts Council president Ahmed Shah said, "Society is remembered by the writers, poets, scholars and artists it produces; people to date remember Shakespeare, Victor Hugo, Marquez, Shah Latif and Sachal and will always [do] so."
Writer Nasir Abbas Nayyar said that artists and writers are the ones who kill evil in society because they occupy both, the world of society and the world of imagination.
Notable Indian writer and critic, Shamim Hanfi said that we have made a mistake to modernise without understanding the soul of modernity, and this modernity hasn't benefited us much.
The crowd on the first day of the conference for the session on Jaun Elia kept swelling and it became difficult for the organisers to manage the crowd and accommodate them. After the auditorium was full, seats were arranged in front of a display screen. But still many people were standing. Titled "Jaun Elia: Aik he shakhs tha jahan main kiya" the session was presided over by Aniq Ahmed and the panelists included; Peerzada Qasim, Shakeel Adilzada. Iqbal Haider, Wusatullah Khan, Shahid Rassam and Abbas Naqvi.
Another popular and well-attended session was of living legend Anwar Maqsood titled "Anwar Maqsood kay sath". He is a famous writer, television host, satirist, humorist, and infrequent actor. In his typically caustic style he used humour to highlight the various disparities in society about what people say and what they do. He read a paper on Jaun Elia. From politics to poets different personalities were the topic of his discussion including Ghalib and Iqbal
A session titled "Beyaad-e-Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi" was presided over by Shahid Rassam and the panelists included; Iftikhar Arif, Fatimah Hassan, Asif Farrukhi, Muhammad Ahmed Shah and Shehzad Sharjeel.
The participants at a session titled "Urdu in Cyber Space" were famous journalist Wajahat Masood, Ayub Khawar and Haris Khalique. The session was hosted by Owais Tohid.
Talking about the cyber space and Urdu, Haris Khalique said that social media is a great medium for expressing the feelings. "Although, we are facing censorship on social media, but we should differentiate between politics, games and entertainment," he said. "We have recently experienced a censorship. We should not block any kind of narrative for any interest."
A discussion was held with famous writer Mustansar Hussain Tarrar. The session was chaired by Mustansar Hussain Tarrar, Shamim Hanafi and Zia Ul Hassan. The session was hosted by Iqbal Khursheed.
Mustansar Hussain Tartar discussed his novels, travelogues and short stories. He said that he used to write for many years and during these years he had many different experiences of life.
On third day a large number of people attended the Aalmi Mushaira and appreciated and praised the poetry. The spectacular event was attended by renowned poets of our country as well poets of other countries who recited their poetry and collect praise from the audience. The event was presided over Iftikhar Arif whereas hosted by poetess Nasira Zuberi.
Several sessions were held on fourth day including "Yad e Raftagan" (Remembering the departed). The panelists were Iftikhar Arif, Syed Noman ul Haq, Ayub Khawar, Mubin Mirza, Arfan Javed, and Fatima Hassan it was hosted by Khurram Sohail they discussed the life of Saqi Farooqi, Muhammad Umar Memon, Mano Bhai, Rasa Chughtai, Ahmed Basher and Fahmida Riaz.
Fatima Hassan discussed the life of veteran writer Fahmida Riaz, she said that Fahmida Riaz wrote poetry on diverse subjects including the most taboo considered in our society. Her poetry reflects the feminist aspect of the society.
The last day also offered some interesting sessions on the film industry in Pakistan and on humorous Urdu poetry. The speakers of the session included Mustafa Qureshi, Sultana Siddiqui, Nadeem Beg, Munawwar Saeed, Indian theatre star Nadira Zaheer Babbar, wife of famous actor Raj Babbar
A lifetime achievement award was conferred upon National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) President Zia Mohyuddin who has made invaluable contributions to the Pakistani theatre and is celebrated for his readings of literature. The award was in the form of a sculpture created by artist Shahid Rassam. Zia also read out verses by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Iqbal, and Miraji on the occasion.
Notable Indian writer and critic, Shamim Hanfi, Noor Zaheer from India, Arif Naqvi from Germany, Mustansar Hussain Tarar, Asad Mohammad Khan, Iftikhar Arif, Raza Ali Abidi, Peerzada Qasim, Masood Ashar, Ameena Saiyid and others were also present at the conference. Arts Council of Pakistan Secretary Professor Aijaz Ahmed Farooqi gave a vote of thanks to those present at the programme which was hosted by Huma Mir.
The four-day 11th Aalmi Urdu Conference concluded with a resolution that Urdu and other national languages be given due importance to create a national character and develop national integrity.
The organisers of the conference have done a great job by arranging the moot for ten years continuously and are followed by other cities of the country, now there are also conferences held in Lahore and Islamabad. They must keep the good work going.