Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi organized a prestigious ceremony in memory of Zia Mohyeddin and Amjad Islam Amjad, two intellectual and literary figures of Pakistan, in Jawn Elia lawn. President Arts Council Muhammad Ahmed Shah Anwar Maqsood, Iftikhar Arif, Zahra Nigha, Kishwar Naheed, Anwar Shaoor, Azra Mohyeddin, Noor ul Huda Shah, Anbareen Haseeb Anbar, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Ashfaq Hussain, Nasir Abbas Nair, Mazhar Abbas, Javed Siddiqui (Online), Hameed Shahid, Well-known personalities related to science and literature including Wusatullah Khan, Nadeem Zafar Siddiqui, Junaid Zuberi, Ashraf, Akbar Islam participated while Shakeel Khan performed the duties of Moderater.
President Arts Council Muhammad Ahmed Shah Said that this news was painful for everyone, Zia Sahib used to accompany us in every literary festival session, he had to go to America too, the whole world knows that Zia was the same, I loved him very much. His childhood, all Life, how he died , collecting money in the second year for visit of Murree ,His initial training was with N. M. Rashid, then his visit to Lahore and Karachi. Telling stories of marriages, love affairs his eyes liten up, he said that he has many things which are not printed, he showed me all and said that when I am gone, you have to do this work, it is the grief of a lifetime, he said that Amjad Islam Amjad was closely related to me.
Amjad Islam Amjad was a great man, it was a big tragedy for us, he was supposed to participate in our Pakistan Literature Festival. No longer, both of them had a close relationship with the Arts Council. Zia Sahib wrote Shakespeare’s first play in the Arts Council. All his writings are to be collected. We condole with all the people of this country who love literature, the well-known writer and humorist Anwar Maqsood said that I was with Zia Mohyeddin for fifty-five years, I learned to write from Zahra Appa and learned to speak from Zia Mohyeddin. I learned from Zia Sahib that how to read fiction and poetry, to call soft to soft, to call hot to hot, to call problem a problem. He said that Zia sab’s last play was “Romeo and Juliet”, in which Juliet repeatedly said “Romeo where are you?”
Then Romeo’s voice was heard, but today if someone calls Romeo, the voice will not come. Famous poet Iftikhar Arif said that Zia Mohyeddin was a very difficult man , anyone needed a lot of courage to be close to him, for his friendship and familiarity, he said that I have not seen a classical person like Zia, before we did not have the concept of education, he showed enthusiasm and grace. Zia Mohyeddin show and the way he used to read, there was never a reader like him. He had a keen eye, Zia Mohyeddin will always be remembered for his education and acting, he said, I have not seen an actor like him in Pakistan and India till date, I do not hear his voice anywhere, he said Amjad Islam Amjad got everything he wanted in life, he gained great popularity in the world and also in the here after. Poet Anwar Shaoor said that the void of Zia Mohyeddin can never be filled.
His style of reciting Urdu poetry and prose had a scholarly background. He said that now it seems like a dream that someone else like Zia Mohyeddin will be born, there are many mistakes in Urdu as now the people have become feminine, he said that Amjad Islam Amjad used to experiment in different genres of literature and in every direction his quality remained the same, he never left his pen and went on strike, he always used to write something or the other which continued till his death. He treated everyone with love and respect, Amjad was a poet as well as an excellent prose writer. Javed Siddiqui said in an online conversation that we have lost our precious people, Amjad Islam Amjad when They also used to make the evenings memorable and the gatherings used to be full of laughter, God willing they are smiling wherever they are. When the name comes, it becomes a strange situation, as if an important part of life has been taken away from us. Zia Mohyeddin used to write letters and explain very sweet things.
The famous poet Kishwar Naheed expressed his thoughts and said that there was a boy who used to play cricket and used to sit with us. His name was Amjad Islam Amjad. He worked a lot on poetry, he remembered a lot of jokes, if I forgot a word, I used to talk to Amjad, he said that Zia bhai and I have many fights over pronunciation, he used to talk very little, we always used to talk to him. I will continue to respect the seniors, Noor ul Huda Shah said that the passing away of Amjad Islam Amjad and Zia Mohyeddin is a great loss. The way Amjad used to call my name still echoes in my ears, his poetry is always alive. she said that in order to write a good play, one must either be a poet himself or know how to write dialogues. There are those who create an era, design the era, tell how to read, how to pay for words, all this was done by Zia Sahib, he will live forever with his work.
Poet Anbareen Haseeb Anbar expressed his views. While saying that Amjad Islam Amjad and Zia Mohyeddin were an integral part of the Arts Council, I never thought that a party would be organized without both of them. I had a very close relationship with Amjad, I remembered his poems orally during my student days.Former executive director of Arts Council Nadeem Zafar Siddiqui said that i had a good relationship with Amjad, he was a poet as well as a very good person. Napa Managing Director Junaid Zuberi said that maybe life is that people come, spend their time and leave, working with Zia Mohyeddin is my most memorable period , I had the opportunity to learn a lot from him, he would often narrate some incident or the other. A four-day festival has been held in which Zia Mohyeddin ‘s life will be discussed, actor Akbar Islam said, “I still can’t believe that Zia Sahib is no longer among us. Ashraf said while talking that Amjad Islam Amjad lived quality of life that hardly anyone else had.
Ezra Mohyeddin expressed her opinion and said that I thanked Ahmad Shah and people who gathered here .Zia Mohyeddin was a man of promise, he wanted that the commitment should be fulfilled, she said that his memories and words will always remain and whenever we meet, he will be mentioned in our language. Raheel, a student of Zia Mohyeddin, recited the poem “Hasan Kuzahgar” by NM Rashid in such a way that the audience felt as if Zia Mohiuddin was present. Fatiha was also recited in the end for departed souls.
