Pak American Arts Council of Sacramento
Holds Colorful Cultural Evening
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Pak American Arts Council held a colorful cultural evening on February 22, 2014 at the Kabab Corner Restaurant in Western Sacramento. The event’s theme was “Aansoo” (tear) which attracted a large crowd from far and near.
I was wondering why the PAAC convener Khalid Saeed had chosen“ Aansoo” (tear) theme. Perhaps he was inspired by the popular adage ”Tears are words the heart can't express.” To quote Washington Irving, the author of Rip Van Winkle, tears are sacred. “They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.”
Most of the participants presented poetry and songs with the theme of Aansoo to amuse the audience.
Naeem Syed was Master of Ceremony (MC) of the literary-cum-musical evening.
Poets recited their poetry. There were two prominent poets, Dr Nirmal Mann and Zia Zafeer, who thrilled the audience with their presentations. Dr Nirmal Mann is a permanent guest poet of the PAAC. He hardly misses any event. Zia Zafeer appears occasionally.
An important feature of the program was a presentation of poetry of their parents by two lady doctors. Dr Tehseen Jamal recited poetry of her father Jamal Hoshiarpori who is a prominent Punjabi poet. Dr Salma Iqbal recited the poetry of her mother Zuhra Fasih who sent a special ghazal from Karachi on the subject of Aansoo. It may be pointed out that Zuhra Fasih attended the last event of PAAC when she happened to visit California.
Javaid Akhtar of Nationwide Insurance Sacramento presented poetry in his own style. Durrinya Syed thrilled the audience with her presentation. Rukhsana Riaz amused the audience with the presentation of humorist poetry of Dr.Popular Merthi. Abdus Sattar Ghazali drew wide applause with his presentation of humorist poetry. Dr Shaista Rauf drew wide applause with her presentation of the poetry of Amjad Islam Amjad. Tasadduq Attari, who travelled from San Jose to participate in the PAAC evening, captivated the audience with the recitation of poetry in his unique style.
In the musical section, Ambreen Afshan thrilled the audience with her presentation of popular Punjabi song "Tor Panjaban Dee." This was Ambreen's first appearance at the PAAC. Dr. Firdos Sheikh captivated the audience with her presentation of two songs in her melodious voice. Abdulrazzak Adenwala, Convenier of Funkada USA, who travelled from Fremont to attend the program, presented two songs to amuse the audience. Among those who presented songs were Khalid Saeed, Dr Zaka, Mohammad Nadeem, and Nadim Ahmed.
There was a long queue of poetry reciters who included Aftab, Riaz, Meraj Sultana Ghazali, Aftab Javed , Zahoor Ahmed, and Shuaib Qureshi.
Mark Johannessen , Mayor of West Sacramento, who is running for a California Assembly seat, was the special guest. He delivered a brief speech and thanked the PAAC for giving him an opportunity to address the community members. J ohannessen, 56, is the son of a former state senator Maurice Johannessen, a Redding Republican who served in the Senate from 1993 to 2002.
He is jockeying to succeed Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, who has created a campaign committee to run for the Senate seat to be vacated by President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg in 2014. Johnannessen is targeting an Assembly district that stretches from Elverta, Antelope and Rio Linda south through downtown Sacramento, West Sacramento, and to the Fruitridge area.
Johnannessen is an attorney and certified public accountant. “I’d like to try to bring the region together and have the river connecting us, instead of dividing us. We’ve got bridges to do together, we’ve got streetcars to do together, we’ve got economic development to do together that’s going to benefit both sides of the river,” he told the Sacramento Bee.
Johannessen’s second term on the West Sacramento City Council ends in November 2014.
