LAHORE: `Shah Hussain is a poet of pain who draws sustenance in his poetry from the sufferings and anguish of people. He was a wordsmith whose Kaafis were composed in a cultural template of the downtrodden and economically and socially marginalised people of that period. His poetry is superbly relevant to the present times when the people of this country are suffering the same travails`.

This was stated by World Punjabi Congress (WPC) Chairman Fakhar Zaman at Shah Hussain Conference, organised by Pakistan Academy of Letters, International Writer`s Council, WPC and Idara Fikr-o-Funn.

He said Shah Hussain was among those Sufis who lived among the masses and could feel theirpain. The spinning wheel or `Charkha` in his poetry was symbolic of the entire span of human life with all its concomitants and vicissitudes, he said, adding that his diction was superb, tender and direct and that`s why it touched heart.

Shah Hussain, Zaman said, used to stand on one leg in River Ravi to pray for the salvation of the poor and the hapless. He was also a revolutionary and a rebel of his times and was said to have witnessed the hanging of Dullah Bhatti in Lahore, he added.

Mr Zaman further said his love for Madhu was a metaphor for tolerance, secularism and inter-faith harmony. He belonged to Mulamatiya school, expressing his resentment against the oppressive society and establishment of the time, he added.

He reiterated the WPC demand to declare Punjabi as medium ofinstruction at the primary level and the establishment of a Punjabi University in Lahore to be named after Shah Hussain.

He said the conference was the fifth in the series on Sufi poets of Pakistan, adding that the next one would be on Sultan Bahu and Khawaja Farid, to be followed by conferences on Sufi poets of Sindh, Balochistan and KP, wherein scholars from these provinces would also be invited.

Dr Imrana Mushtaq, the president of International Writer`s Council, dwelt upon various aspects of Shah Hussain`s kaafis, adding that he was a great influence on other Sufi poets.

Idara Fikar-o-Funn head Mumtaz Rashid said Shah Hussain`s poetry was representative of folk culture of Punjab.

Academy`s Assistant Director Muhammad Jameel said such conferences would promote nationalintegration.

Journalist Akram Sheikh discussed at length the history of Sufi movements and Bhagti Tehreek in the subcontinent.

Writer Ghafar Shahzad in a thought-provoking article interpreted various dimensions of Shah Hussain`s Kaafis in the perspective of present social and political conditions. He endorsed WCP`s suggestions that Sufism should be taught as a compulsory subject at college and university level.

In the end, Pakistan Academy of Letters director and eminent writer Asim Butt stated that the academy had published the translations of Sufi poets of Pakistan into major languages of the world and the books were available in foreign libraries.

Neelama Durrani and Haroon Adeem also shed light on Shah Hussain`s poetry.