KARACHI: Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi paid tribute to Mushtaq Ahmed Yosufi- a highly acclaimed satire and humor writer of Pakistan. The Joshmalihabadi Library of Arts Council was founded on more than 10,000 books of Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi, says Ahmed Shah, president Arts Council of Pakistan.
“I am a huge admirer of Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi. He was the glory of gatherings and a very dear friend of everyone. I am grateful to his family members, they directed Yusufi’s books to the right place so that future generations can enjoy this rare collection” said Ahmed Shah who was accompanied by Zehra Nigah, Dr Fatima Hassan, Ghazala Rizvi, and Shahid Rassam while prof. Noman-ul-Haq from Lahore, Dr Tariq Habib from Sargodha and Iftikhar Arif from Islamabad.
“People say poetry is a difficult genre, but in my personal opinion humor and satire is the most difficult genre of literature. He was a distinguished banker who made his appearance on the literary scene with the publication of his first book. The way Yusufi wrote prose and evoked its meaning is commendable” said poet and scriptwriter Zehra Nigah.
Expressing his view on the occasion litterateur Iftikhar Arif said “There were many aspects of his personality; I shared a unique relation of love and compassion with him. He was my mentor and his teachings are my assets”. Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi is the greatest prose writer of Urdu literature not just of our time but for all time – Iftikhar added.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Fatima Hassan said “I found Yusfi to be a very good friend and a great advisor as well. The greatest virtue of his humor is that he used to make fun of himself, not others. The legendary humorist never missed the mark of humanity”. “It was wise to call him a covenant he was indeed a covenant. He was very particular about the language respected its values” said prof. Noman-ul-Haq.
“No one can match the mark of Yusfi’s write-ups he wrote brilliant prose of all time.” Said Dr. Tariq Habib. In the year 1995, Tariq Habib wrote a thesis on the personality of Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi later came to light in a book form. After that, he compiled a book named “Mushtaq Ahmed Yosufi: Chiragh taley se aab-e-Gham tak.
Recalling the memories of Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi Shahid Rassam said “When I first met him, he took me to his library. The way his creative work is being unfolded will enhance the aspects of Yusufi’s personality and people will get to know a lot about him”.
“Mushtaq’s love for Urdu literature was worth seeing and we all know about it. It was his love towards Urdu the language that he stopped doing speeches in the English language a long time ago” said Ghaza Rizvi. The arts council organized the event on the occasion of the 3rd Death anniversary of the highly honored writer, Yusufi. The event was moderated by Shakeel Khan.