Islamabad:
Haar jayay gi zindgi laykin
Haarnay ka nheen mera ‘Yeh Ishq’
Dr Farhat’s latest poetry collection ‘Yeh Ishq’ is a collection of heartfelt reflections on the many faces of the human heart. Poetry, for him, is the only true record of our shared human journey — a journey he does not want ever to see come to an end:
Roz ka jalna aur jalana hai
Ishq se silsala purana hai
His poetry is a call to love. It is a message that love is all around us. He has both an unusual taste for love and a poet’s eye and ear for recording its secrecies and wonders. It has diverse emotions that fill the hearts of the personae as they celebrate a moment of love, capture a fragrance of it, or allow themselves to be ecstatic:
Main rahay ishq ko asan karna chahta houn
So dil ko sahib-e-eman karan chahta houn
Sab zamano makan isi mein hain
Daeroun ka hain daera ‘Yeh Ishq’
Dardmandoun se, ijz waloun se
Sab se rakhta hai raabta mera ishq
Farhat’s poetry is intended for lovers; exploring the seasons of hearts that are ablaze with love and conveying sentiments in a way that captures the human heart forcefully:
Hai kutch khareedna tu mohabbat khareed kar
Khidmat se naam, naam se izzat khareed kar
Some verses explore themes of a love that is spiritual, when the heart looks heavenward, like a baby lifting its face towards a mother:
Muj ko Mansur log kehtay hain
Main houn Farahat, mera khuda mera ishq
At times, Farhat presents love in a free-flowing form. From attraction to deeper aspects of love — the raw and sometimes wild emotions that grow from just a single glance. Some phrases are grandiose. Others reveal the affection of a person lost in the stormy world of love:
Phalay hain saray shehr mein kissay ajeeb se
Guzra hai jab bhe phool sa chehra qareeb se
Farhat’s diction is celebratory, each poem a valuable breath, short and succinct. There is a simplicity of style that is deceptive, veiling the depths of the currents that run through the verses:
Shehr waloun nein bhujayay hain mohabbat kay charagh
Main inehein phir se jalaoun ga chala jaoun ga
This is the kind of poetry that speaks directly to the place in our hearts where we are most deeply human:
Os ne dekhay hee naheen mehromohabbat wallay
Os se kehna keh kabhi hum se bhi mil kar dekhay
Overall, I found this collection of poetry to be a rollercoaster that took me through an entire emotional spectrum with ups and downs that differed from verse to verse:
Kia hua gar hai purkhata mera ishq
Parsa main, na parsa mera ishq
A representational image of an immigrant holding a Canadian flag. — X/@CitImmCanada/FileIslamabad: A delegation of...
A photograph of students appearing for an exam. — AFP/FileRawalpindi:The first annual intermediate examination for...
This image shows the logo of the Ministry of Human Rights. — APP/FileIslamabad: Ministry of Human Right’s Helpline...
Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, Irfan Memon can be seen in this image. — Facebook/Office of the Deputy Commissioner,...
This representational image shows a little plant. — Unsplash/FileRawalpindi: Director General , Parks and...
Students in a school in Islamabad can be seen attending a class on October 12, 2023. — Facebook/Federal Directorate...