PAL Organizes Potohari Naatia Mushaira

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th May, 2021 ) :An online Pothohari hamdiya and naatiya mushaira was organized by the Pakistan academy of Letters (PAL).

The Presidium consisted of Akhtar Usman (Islamabad), Shiraz Tahir (Mandira) and Saqib Imam Rizvi (Gujar Khan). Yasir Mahmood Kayani (Kalrasidan), Shiraz Akhtar Mughal (Gujar Khan) and Shamsa Noorin (Islamabad) were the chief guests. Dr. Yousuf Khushk, Chairman, PAL, gave the introductory speech. Noman Razzaq and Malik Abdul Saboor were the moderators.

In his introductory remarks, Dr. Yousuf Khushk, Chairman, PAL, said that Sawan civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and I welcome all the poets in this Pothohari language Mushaira, which is the language of the settlements on the banks of the River Sawan.

He said that Pothohari, like other Pakistani languages, has a centuries-old tradition of folk literature. However, written documents have been available since the beginning of the twentieth century.

He said that it is still a matter of research as to who wrote the first poem in Pothohari. However, Baqi Siddiqui has the honor of being the first well-known poet of Pothohari who has written poetry in Pothohari as well as in urdu.

Dr. Yousuf Khushk said that like other Pakistani languages, Hamd and Naat in Pothohari also started in the form of folk literature. Since Pothohari is linguistically close to Punjabi, Seraiki and Hindko, their linguistic and literary connections are also better. The mood of ancient poetry in Punjabi and Seraiki is mystical. Pothohari poetry also painted itself with the same mystical temperament.

He said that since Mian Muhammad Bakhsh lived in an area where the language was Pothohari, his Punjabi poetry was also rich in Pothohari colors and not only did he have a mystical temperament but he also Regular hymns and naats are also recited.

Tradition of Pothohari's famous song Charbita has been going on for centuries. In this folk genre, which was arranged with the rhythm of a sattar and a pitcher, the singer used to recite Hamdiya and Naatiya Charbita in the beginning, he added.

He said that most of the evolution of Pothohari literature in the last three decades of the twentieth century was due to Radio Pakistan and ptv. Most of the literature in this period was written for broadcasting only. In those days, there were regular Hamad and Naat recitations on radio and tv. From these recitations, regular Naat was sung in Pothohari. From this platform, there is hardly any collection of Pothohari among all literary friends from the Pothohari language and literature today. In which there was no Hamad and Naat. Hamdia and Naatiya mushairas are now being held regularly. PAL's this Mushaira is also a link in the same chain. He thanked all the poets of the Pothohari Mushaira for participating in the Mushaira at the request of the PAL.

Participants of Mushaira included Rehman Hafeez (Islamabad), Javed Ahmed (Kahuta), Zaman Akhtar (Sohawa), Abdul Waheed Qasim (Rawat), Ashfaq Hashmi (Wah Cantt), Zahoor Ahmad Naqi (Rawalpindi), Abid Hussain Janjua (Kalrasidan), Ilyas Babar Awan (Islamabad), Shahid Latif Hashmi (Sukho), Farid Zahid (Gujar Khan), Ghulam Raza Shakir (Gujar Khan), Zakir Mahmood Zakir (Gujar Khan), Hussain Amjad (Attock), Muhammad Sharif Shad (Rawalpindi), Qamar Abdullah (Bhata), Ejaz Gohar (Wah Cantt), Faisal Irfan (Bhankali), Amir Habib (Jhelum), Nazakat Ali Mirza (Wah Cantt), Naveed Aslam (Chakwal), Sultan Mahmood Chishti (Gujar Khan), Shakur Ahsan ( Gujar Khan), Yasir Mahmood Yabi (Chontra), Sajjad Haider (Dawlatullah) and others presented Hamadiya and Naatiya poetry in Pothohari language.