KARACHI: The Arts Council of Pakistan on Friday held an evening to pay tribute to Urdu poet Abbas Tabish.

The well-attended event was presided over by poetess Zehra Nigah and moderated by Ambareen Haseeb Amber.

To highlight the popularity of, and to acknowledge the poetic prowess of Mr Tabish, Ms Nigah narrated a story. She said, once she was in the UAE to take part in a mushaira. In a discussion with the eminent Pakistani poet Iftikhar Arif and Indian poet Javed Akhtar who were staying at the same hotel, the subject of the decline of the institution of mushaira came up. Mr Akhtar talked about how the culture of mushaira had gone down in his country. Ms Nigah argued that while the situation was no different in Pakistan, there were certain poets who enlivened the mushaira with their quality poetry. At that point, Mr Arif said that Ms Nigah was referring to Abbas Tabish. Such is the quality of Mr Tabish’s ghazals.

Ms Nigah said sometimes a poet writes a verse, and that verse becomes the introduction of that particular poet to all those who love poetry. In that regard, she quoted Mr Tabish’s verse:

Aik muddat se meri maan nahin so’i Tabish

Main ne ik baar kaha tha mujhe darr lagta hai

[My mother hasn’t slept a wink for the longest time

I had once said, I was afraid (of the dark)]

She asked why does everyone like the above-mentioned two lines? And answered, because the verse is alive (yeh sher zinda hai) and will never die. “Look at Gaza today, look at the children from Palestine and Iran, the injured children who have survived [the war], they must be saying to their mothers, ‘Mother, I’m afraid.’ The kind of fear that they’re faced with, I pray no child in the world has to face.”

Mr Tabish, in his address, thanked the organisers for putting together the programme. He said he had always given respect to his seniors, which is the only way to earn respect for yourself. He lamented that the younger generation today doesn’t respect their elders. “We can’t move forward without respecting others.”

He then recited a good number of his ghazals which were very well received by the audience. Two of the verses that he presented were:

Tujh se nahin mila tha magar chahta tha main

Tu hamsafar ho aur kahin ka safar na ho

[I hadn’t even met you but wanted you

To embark with me on a journey to nowhere]

Tu janta nahin merey maalik makaan ko

Ay dost koi cheez idhar ki udhar na ho

[You don’t know how cruel my landlord is –

Dear friend, make sure things remain where they are]

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2026