PCFQ and BUQ to mark Ada Jafarey’s literary legacy

English , Literature - جہانِ ادب , Snippets , / Sunday, June 2nd, 2024

Celebration of Ada Jafarey’s Literary Legacy
Pakistan Cultural Forum Qatar (PCFQ) and Bazm e Urdu Qatar (BUQ) are organizing a literary and musical event to honor the renowned Urdu poet Ada Jafarey, widely celebrated as the ‘First Lady’ of Urdu poetry.
Event Details: The event will take place on Tuesday, June 4th, at 6 pm at Bait Al Sulaiti (MOC). The evening will feature discussions on the English translation of Ada Jafarey’s autobiography, a task undertaken by her son, Dr. Aamir Jafarey, and her granddaughter, Asra Jafarey.
Key Speakers: Dr. Aamir Jafarey, along with Dr. Umar Daraz Khan, President of the Faiz Cultural Foundation UK, will engage the audience in an enlightening intellectual dialogue. Additionally, Dr. Khalil Shibli and Dr. Faisal Hanif will present musical renditions of Ada Jafarey’s poetry, as well as works by contemporary and classical poets.
About Ada Jafarey: Ada Jafarey, born on August 22, 1924, in Badayun, UP, India, is renowned as the First Lady of Urdu poetry. Her poetic journey began at the age of 9 and spanned over seven decades. Her early works appeared in pre-partition India’s leading Urdu literary periodicals, such as Rooman, Shahkar, Adab e Lateef, Adabi Dunya, and Naya Daur.
Published Works: Encouraged by her mother in childhood and her husband, Nurul Hasan Jafarey, after marriage, Ada published five collections of poetry:
• Main Saaz Dhundtee Rahee (1948)
• Shehar e Dard (1967)
• Ghazala Tum Toe Waqif Ho (1972)
• Saaz e Sukhan (1986)
• Harf e Shanasai (1999)
Her complete poetic works were compiled in the anthology Mausam Mausam (2002). Ada also wrote an autobiography, Jo Rahee so Baykhabari Rahee (1995), translated into English in 2023 by her son and granddaughter. Additionally, she published Ghazal Numa, a research work on forgotten poets.
Awards and Recognition: Ada’s contributions to literature earned her numerous accolades, including the Adamjee Award (1967) for Shehr e Dard, the Tamgha e Imtiaz (1981), the Baba e Urdu Award (1994), and the Qaid e Azam Literary Award (1997). She was also honored with the Pride of Performance Award for Literature (2002) and the Kamal e Fan Award (2003). Ada was an active member of the Pakistan Writers Guild and the Governing Body of the Muqtadra Qaumi Zaban (National Language Authority). She passed away in 2015 at her home in Karachi.