PAL all set to organise Faiz Ahmed Faiz Int’l moot in May 2011
By Mahtab Bashir
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) is all set to organise ‘Faiz Ahmed Faiz International Conference’ in third week of May 2011, in the federal capital and has also planned to setup a special award ‘Faiz Ahmed Faiz Award’ on poetic works in any Pakistani languages including English with the cash amount of Rs 100,000.
PAL Chairman Fakhar Zaman giving a media briefing at his office on Friday informed about PAL’s activities to celebrate the year (2011) as ‘Faiz Ahmad Faiz Year’ as declared by President Asif Ali Zardari.
Zaman said that PAL has already organized a series of nationwide seminars on Faiz Ahmed Faiz. First programme of this series was held at PAL’s main office in Islamabad on February 10, 2011, while all four provincial offices of PAL had also organized such events on consecutively on February 11-12, 2011.
PAL chief said that his office is in contact with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and whished to invite them on inaugural and concluding ceremony as chief guests to chair the proceedings of the Conference. “Scholars from Holland, Germany, Italy, SAARC countries, France, UK, Russia, Uzbekistan, Canada, USA, Denmark, India, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bangladesh will be invited in the conference to present their papers on Faiz Ahmed Faiz,” Zaman maintained.
Fakhar Zaman said that special programme would be organized in federal capital and provincial capitals of the country every month to apprise the people with his ideology and struggle.
Giving updates to construct Faiz Ahmed Faiz Auditorium inside PAL premises, Zaman said that the auditorium is under construction and we have requested government to provide more funds to accelerate the process of construction. “Government has already agreed to provide the remaining budget of Rs 20 million for the project that would be be completed till June 2011.
The project was supposed to be completed in 2009 however due to the unavailability of funds the construction work had been stopped since February 2009. It is feared that any further delay in the process of construction would lead the incomplete structure of auditorium, Zaman maintained.
He informed the media persons that PAL has already published a special number of Adbiyat on Faiz Ahmed Faiz of which two editions have been published and work on third edition is going on.
PAL has also published a book on “Faiz Ahmed Faiz: Life and Works” under “Makers of Pakistani Literature” series whose third edition is in the market, the chairman said.
He continued that PAL has also published, a special book on Faiz Ahmed Faiz written by Tasleem Elahi Zulfi, titled, “Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Beirut” focused on Faiz’s activities and routine in Beirut during his stay there as expatriate and in this way brings new aspects of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s life in light for the first time.
He informed the media persons that a book containing reviews of critical writings regarding life and work of Faiz Ahmed Faiz is also in process, adding, PAL would also publish a book on Faiz Ahmed Faiz memories with his friends with whom he spent some time during his stay in Canada.
He added that PAL also planned to translate writings and poetic books on Faiz Ahmed Faiz in all Pakistani languages, adding, selected work of Faiz would be translated in six international languages including English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic.
Fakhar Zaman said that PAL also planed to prepare a documentary film on life of Faiz Ahmed Faiz besides an exhibition of paintings made in special reference with Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry.
Source: Daily Times
Date:3/5/2011
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