Adil Najam
Aitizaz Ahsan, flaws and all, has become the voice of the moment. The voice of a generation. This voice, which has become my voice and, maybe, yours speaks more passionately in the idiom of poetry than in the idiom of prose. It speaks most passionately in this poem – Kal, Aaj and Kal – that reflects his thoughts on current issues after his recent release.
Listen for yourself. And listen again. It is worth pondering upon. Worth thinking about.
Aik muhazzab quom ko, daikho, khod hum nay badnaam kiya hai
Part II here:
There are so many thoughts, so many lines, so many ideas, so many metaphors here that I would love to comment upon. But poetry is better listened than dissected. So listen, friends. And ponder yourself. Share your thoughts. But even if you choose not to, please, do think.
Note: Thanks to the various readers – 6 and counting – who have alerted me to this.
I am still a musharraf supporter. At the same time, I have had great respect for Aitizaz. He is brilliant and charismatic. I had hoped he would have been the prime minister candidate for PPP. Alas, they want to keep the leadership within the feudals.
I expected a higher quality of poetry. But then Aitizaz is no poet. And emotional diatribes don’t always lend themselves to poem easily. It is to say the least a plebian effort in terms of structure as well as imagery. But I digress. The other disappointment is an insight into his mind where socialism is clearly still alive and kicking. Someone tell him about the failures of communism around the world. And if he is out of touch with that, what else does he not realize.
Very beautifully expressed thoughts and meaningful poetry!
Thanks for sharing.
May God be with him and help him and people of Pakistan in fulfilling their dreams.
Doasto,
khawab sachaa ho, uski taabir ka intizar ba’az dafaa nasloon tuk phail jata hai.
I am an admirer of Itezaz, his honesty, intellect, dedication and I am not surprised to hear such a thought provoking message for all of us. Let us keep telling and reminding our children of the same.
May Allah bless you Itezaz.
Shahnasir
Well said, Umar.
The son nowadays fills the TV screens —literally — on all the PTV talk shows.
After ghostwriting a dictator’s memoirs, Altaf Gauhar was definitely in need of Hidayat… :)
Too bad not much of it rubbed off on his son, who continued the family’s illustrious legacy of penning awe-inspiring prose for their masters…