KARACHI: Habib University set up a corner, Gosha-i-Asif Aslam Farrukhi,named after the eminent writer, translator and publisher at its library.

It was inaugurated by Mr Farrukhi`s daughter Dr Ghazal Asif on the occasion of the writer`s second death anniversary. Apart from that, a book titled Uss Aadmi Ki Kami, essays and articles onMr Farrukhi life and work compiled and edited by Prof Inaam Nadeem, was launched.

Moving scenes were witnessed on the occasion because the two speakers, Prof Nauman Naqvi and Ghazal Asif, could not control their feelings, especially the former, as their eyes welled up while speaking about the late author.

Prof Naqvi said the gosha that has been established has a symbolic value, but Mr Farrukhi is an integral part of the university`s foundation. He was with the institution from the beginning. The professor also talked about the writer`s voraciousness as areader.

Dr Ghazal Asif said H abib University had been working hard to set up the corner for the last two years. For her,besides being a literary personality, the writer was her abbu and the two things combine in a strange manner for her.

`In a way, these books are my sisters which have been kept in the library.

[When Mr Farrukhi was alive] books were our award as well as our punishment. Whenever he wanted to punish us, he would take away the books and hide them. Our task would be to find those books. My grandfather used to do the same with my f ather.

`My father had more than 40,000 books. Some of them were repeated [more than one copy] books. One-third of the collection is with Habib University, I have one part of it and one is with the Arts Council. He was quite possessive about his collection,` she toldthe guests, adding that memories are attached to each book that the university has, and that the library is open to the public with the prerequisite restrictions of access.

After that, the guests were taken to the area where the gosha was unveiled by Dr Ghazal and Wasif Rizvi, president of Habib University.

The second half of the programme, the book launch, was arranged in the main auditorium of the institution. It was moderated by Prof Nadeem.

Addressing the audience, he said it`s the second death anniversary of Mr Farrukhi, however, it does not sound right to say that he`s no more. Individuals such as him do not die because they are constantly discussed. He was not just a writer, teacher, publisher and founderof literary festivals but also the kind of person that whoever he interacted with on a regular basis felt he was the closest to them. `There`s no other example of the way he`s remembered after his demise.

Prof Nadeem then invited some guests to express their views on Mr Farrukhi. They included Dr Aamir Hasan (who also delivered the welcome address), Dr Ghazal Asif, Yusra (Mr Farrukhi`s student), Shah Jamal Alam, Afzal Syed, Prof Nauman Naqvi, Amar Sindhu, Attiya Dawood and Dr Fatema Hassan.

The last segment of the event was a performance by Zambeel Dramatic Readings Asma Mundrawala and Fawad Khan. The group read one of Mr Farrukhi`s stories.