Rana Waheed, Bureau Chief , Daily Dawn, Dawn TV
Sahiwal: The two-day “Mehkan Azadi Mela” organized by Mahakan Punjabi Literary Board, Sahiwal, concluded after a rich literary and cultural program. Writers, poets, artists, students and citizens participated in the festival in large numbers.
The festival began with a seminar titled “Mother Language, Homeland and Culture”. Pir Ehsanul Haq Idrees presided over it while the special guest was Muhammad Arshad Malik, MPA and former Minister of State Mehr Ghulam Farid Kathia. The speakers, Professor Muhammad Iqbal Abid and Rana Hammad Afzal, said that the promotion of mother language and culture is indispensable for national identity. Akhtar Khan was the stage secretary of this session.
On the same day, in the second session, “Akhran Da Kharaj” was presented to the late poet Rafiq Raji. Renowned poet Ramesh Minhas presided over the session, and Professor Rafiq Shahid Bhatta was the special guest. In this session, Dr. Mushtaq Adil, Khizr Mohsin, Farooq Azhar and Ali Sher Jatoi expressed their views on the art and personality of the late poet. The session was conducted by Shaukat Kathia.
The first session of the second day consisted of award distribution, which was presided over by Shahzad Khan Wasir. Dr. Saifullah Bhatti, Additional Commissioner Coordination, Sahiwal, was the special guest, and Director Education Tanveer Ahmed Chaudhry was the guest of honor. Awards were given for the books of Usman Phulwan, Shaukat Rafta, Shahzad Naseem and Allah Dutta Aasi. The Punjabi Journalism Award was presented to Dilawar Sultan Dhakko, while the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to renowned painter Abdul Matin.
On the same day, a magnificent poetry recitation was held in the second session, which was presided over by renowned Punjabi poet Mehr Altaf Bharwana. Additional Deputy Commissioner Niaz Ahmed Mughal and Dr. Maham Ahad were the special guests, while Jafar Anjum Jatiana was the guest of honor. Falak Sher Naveed, Mahmood Amjad Haral, Arif Baloch, Akram Nasir, Fida Bukhari, Badr Seemab and other renowned poets recited their poems and received huge applause from the audience. At the end of the poetry recital, Dr. Mushtaq Adil thanked the guests and participants. The last session of the festival consisted of a folk music festival in which renowned folk artist Arif Hussain Lonewala performed the magic of his art. A large number of attendees made the festival memorable by dancing to folk tunes.
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