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To mark the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito and the advent of the new era ‘Reiwa’ in Japan, the Pak-Japan Cultural Association held its 34th Urdu haiku mushaira at the Manzar Akbar Hall of the Arts Council on Saturday evening.

A big number of poetry lovers turned up to hear how contemporary Urdu poets are treating the three-line traditional Japanese poem, and they were not disappointed.

The first one to present a haiku was Sohail Ahmed Siddiqui. His three lines set the tone for the programme:

Darya biphra hai
Dil ki barf jo pighli tau
Parbat roya hai

(The river is choppy / As the ice in my heart melts / The mountain sheds tears)

Barkha aur sahaab
Kaisey dhoondein bearish mein
Gumgashta mehtaab
(Clouds and grey skies / How can I find in the rain / My lost moon)

Wazahat Abbasi’s poem:

Ta’aer urta hai
Par sukrein aur phailein tau
Koi thaamta hai

(A bird flies / When it spreads and folds wings / Someone holds it tight)

Dr Nuzhat Abbasi’s lines:

Par jata hai maand
Sard abdheri raaton mein
Kis ne dekha chaand

(It gets dull / In cold bleak nights / Who has seen the moon?)

Saher Ali recited the following haikus:

Karwa hota hai
Phir bhi munh peh sach kehna
Achha hota hai

(Though it’s bitter / Truth told to someone’s face / Is always worth its while)

Zaheer Zarf’s effort:

Shaaed ji jaatey
Hum gar taeri aankhon ke
Aansu pi jaatey

(I could have lived / If I had absorbed / Tears that trickled down your eyes)

Amna Alam recited:

Waqt peh ker lo kaam
Suraj ki kirnein logo
Deti hai paigham

(Do your work on time / This is the message of / The sun’s rays)

Zaibun nisa Zaiby read out:

Chirya hai maghmoom
Saanp shajar per aata hai
Us ko hai maloom

(The thrush is sad / It knows / The snake can reach the tree)

Shehzad Niaz’s lines:

Pat jhar ka tha saaz
Tujh se chhup ker milney ka
Rakh na saka jo raaz

(The music of autumn / Could not keep the secret / Of our romantic liaison)

Rubina Tehseen tickled the audience’s funny bones with:

Main Mona Lisa
Lag hi jaaey ga ab tau
Japan ka visa

(I’m Mona Lisa / Now it’s certain / I’ll get visa for Japan)

Another of her haikus was:

Chaandni raat to hai
Neend se bojhal hai aakhein
Koi baat to hai

(The night is moonlit / Eyes are heavy with sleeplessness / Something’s up)

The names of other participating poets on the list were: Aftab Muztar, Shahabuddin Shahab, Parveen Nazir Soomro, Syed Mashood Hasan Rizvi, Sarwat Sultana Sarwat, Jamal Naqvi, Sarwer Javed, Manzar Ayubi, among others.

Earlier, Sadia Rashid, Moinunddin Haider and Deputy Consul General of Japan in Karachi Katsunori Ashida (who also recited his haikus) addressed the audience.

Originally published in Dawn, October 7th, 2019