-
17th Jan 2011Faiz Ahmed Faiz
An event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, one of the most prominent poets of the Indian sub-continent, who wrote in both Urdu and Punjabi, and whose humane work was filled with love, dignity and resistance to injustice. -
This spectacular event featured:
Javed Majeed, distinguished professor of postcolonial studies at Queen Mary, University of London, and an expert on Urdu poetry, who provided a biographical introduction and spoke about Faiz’s great contributions to poetry and to world culture.
Dr. Farooq Bajwa, historian and lawyer, who spoke about the key political and historical events in Faiz’s lifetime; and
Rukhsana Ahmad, writer, playwright and translator, who talked about the poet’s commitment to humanism and art
Poems by Faiz were read in the original language and in translation:
In Urdu: Senior journalist, Saqlain Imam who now works for the BBC’s Urdu World Service in London;
In English: Actress and playwright Sudha Bhuchar, Artistic Director at Tamasha Theatre company; and
In Punjabi: Renowned Punjabi poet and translator, Amarjit Chandan whose latest book is ‘Sonata for Four Hands’.
Musical settings of Faiz poems were performed by Swati Natekar, a renowned vocalist from a hereditary musical family in Mumbai, accompanied by distinguished tabla player Hanif Khan.
The Faiz Ahmed Faiz event took place in Hall One at Kings Place.
Melanie Roberts conducted interviews with some of the participants which can be found here.