Students pay tribute to Faiz through mime, musical show

[Salman Mushtaq]

The students of University of Gujrat (UoG) here paid rich tribute to the legend poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The event was continuation of series of activities as government announced “2011 as Faiz Year” in which a number of events, including seminars, conferences and exhibitions, are being arranged across the country, says a press release issued on Tuesday.
An exceptional mime performance on Faiz Ahmed Fiaz’s optimistic poem “Umeed-e-Shar ki Baat Suno” grasped the attention of jam-packed-hall. The poerformance portrayed how Faiz brought revolutionary changes in oppressed society through his poetry.
The students performed mime show in “An evening dedicated to Faiz” organized by UoG, in collaboration with the National Language Authority (NLA), Higher Education Commission HEC and National Testing Service Pakistan (NTS).
The performance depicted that hope emerged in oppressed and brutal society as Faiz narrated in his poetry. The expressions showed how society reacted in tyrannical regimes and a ray of hope overshadowed frustration.
Alia Rasheed, a Lahore-based singer, sang Fiaz’s poetry and Raees Ahmed played violin on the occasion.
Haroon Habib lecturer, the School of Art, Design and Architecture UoG, said the performance was based on the struggle period of Faiz.
A number of literary personalities, teachers and students participated and enjoyed the musical and mime performances.
Prof Dr Muhammad Nizamudin, Vice Chancellor of UoG, said youth were real future and ray of hope for Pakistan that’s why Faiz Ahmed Faiz addressed to the youth as an agent of change and emphasize them to play proactive role for protection of rights of oppressed classes.
Quaid-i-Azam Alumni Association Secretary General Murtaza Noor explained the objectives of the programme. He was of the view that poetry and message by Faiz was real source of inspiration for the weak segments of the society.