Just a week earlier, this writer saw a tweet go viral which said, “Lambi hai gham ki phase magar phase hi toh hai: Phase Ahmad Phase.” The wordplay on the poet’s name—Faiz Ahmad Faiz—might not go down well with many a purist, but one can’t ignore the fact that 21st century GenZs are making puns on one of the most famous Urdu poets from the 18th century. The of the revolutionary writer’s popularity speaks for itself and this is just one of the many reasons why, on February 13, Katha Kathan founder Jameel Gulrays will be hosting a mehfil in Faiz’s honour. Jashn-e-Faiz is being held in at Prithvi House in Juhu to mark the poet’s 113rd birth anniversary. 

The Pakistani poet is now a national hero in India, more than 40 years after his passing in 1984, quoted by everyone from politicians like Omar Abdullah to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. “Faiz never cared about religion. There are some who call him a poet of Muslims, but this wasn’t true. Faiz wrote about temples as much as he did about mosques. His set of poems about abandoned temples in Pakistan will be a part of our mehfil,” Gulrays tells mid-day over a phone call.