17th Mir Punjabi Mela held at PILAC to honor Professor Ali Arshad Mir

ISLAMABAD: A two-day 17th Mir Punjabi Mela was organized at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC) in memory of the great Punjabi poet and intellectual Professor Ali Arshad Mir. Writers, artists, poets, scholars, and the general public from across Punjab participated to express their love for their mother tongue and Punjabi culture.

The sessions focused on Punjabi language, literature, and the poetry of Professor Ali Arshad Mir. On the first day, Ilyas Ghuman spoke on contemporary Punjabi politics.

Other sessions addressed the future of Punjab’s rivers, government policies, growing extremism in Punjab, and the politics surrounding dams on Punjab’s rivers. These discussions were led by Aamir Riaz Toto and Dr. Taimur Rahman, who also presented suggestions to resolve water-related political issues.

Additional sessions explored Punjabi folk traditions, linguistic fundamentalism, farmers’ issues in Punjab, and modern Punjabi poetry influenced by Ali Arshad Mir. Prominent speakers included Professor Ghulam Hussain Sajid, Dr. Saeed Bhutta, Dr. Kalyan Singh, Farooq Nadeem, Raja Sadiq Ullah, and Irfan Comrade. Session coordination was handled by Dr. Sarmad Farogh, Akhtar Khan, Saadia Comrade, and Farooq Nadeem.

The Kahani Darbar featured Tahir Sindhu, Professor Zubair Ahmed, Karamat Mughal, Ijaz Ali, Saeed Anjum Khokhar, Sabir Ali Sabir, Usman Bajwa, and Ehtesham Kazim. Painting and calligraphy competitions were also held, themed around Ali Arshad Mir’s poetry and Punjabi culture.

On the second day, discussions covered Punjabi politics and organizations, challenges in promoting Punjabi research, issues faced by young Punjabi writers, cultural impacts of provincial divisions, government claims of cultural patronage versus neglect of the Punjabi language, and Punjabi theatre.

Speakers included Ilyas Ghuman, Ammar Shah Kazmi, Dr. Riaz Anjum, Zubair Ahmed, Iqbal Qaiser, Sabir Ali Sabir, and Dr. Ataullah Ali Hasan Jaffar.

A special tribute was paid to renowned modern Punjabi ghazal poet Tajammal Kaleem, with poets describing his work as a guiding light for future generations. Notable participants included Rai Muhammad, Nasir Ahmed, G.A. Najam, and Ikram Aarifi. Eminent lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan and senior journalist Hussain Naqi attended as special guests.

As in previous years, the Ali Arshad Mir Awards 2025, named after renowned Punjabi poet and intellectual Ali Arshad Mir, were presented in various literary categories.

The awards included Poetry (Nazm) to Mazhar Tirmizi for Ism Hawa Vich, Poetry (Ghazal) to Hakeem Arshad Shehzad for Dardaan Naal Bhiali, Prose (Novel) to Sabir Raza for Mithi Dozakh, Prose (Short Story) to Tahir Sindhu for Naiyundra, Prose – Women Category (Short Story) to Ayesha Aslam for Khari, Research/Criticism to Sanawar Chaddhar for Wagdi Ay Ravi, Translation/Script Conversion to Khalid Farhad Dhariwal for Bhanbarr (by Jon Fosse), Children’s Literature to Dr. Muhammad Ayub for Bataan Dadi Diyan – Bal Lok Bataan (Part III), and Religious Literature to Sultan Kharvi for Naat Ibadat. The Punjabi Sewak Award was conferred upon Hussain Naqi in recognition of his outstanding lifelong contributions to the Punjabi language, literature, and progressive thought.

The festival also featured music, Sufi dance, and folk performances by Dr. Taimur Rahman (Laal Band), Shujaat Ali Khan, Shiraz Ali Khan, Hasnain Abbas Lonewala, Ahmed Lonewala, Nasir Bairaj, Suhail Asjad, Aqsa Noor, Sahil Khan, Bilal Iqbal Qawwal Party, and folk singer Ali Imran Shaukat. Sufi dance performances were presented by Nadeem Abbas and Tanveer.

The mela concluded with the traditional All-Punjab Mushaira, presided over by Raja Sadiq Ullah, where poets from across Punjab recited their poetry and received warm appreciation from the audience.