Joyo's literary work praised

Intellectuals, writers and poets have declared noted scholar and translator, Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo a great critic and a man of letters of the 20th and 21st century and demanded his writings be made part of textbooks to enable the youth to benefit from them. They were speaking at a conference on 'Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo- a literary critic' at the Shaikh Ayaz Auditorium in the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, on Wednesday evening.
SU vice chancellor Dr Abida Taherani said a corner was set up in recognition of Mr Joyo's services. Sindh University was a big platform where his literary services would reach many generations to come, she said.
She said that the conferences of other living legends will also be organized in order to pay tributes to them in their lifetime. "We are proud that Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo started his practical life from teaching and we are also teachers," she maintained. "Rarely does it happen in our society that a great man deserving appreciation is paid tributes in his or her life. No sooner does one leaves this world than the praise is heaped on his grave as of it takes death of a man to make everybody realise how great a person had been," said former vice chancellor of Sindh University Mazharul Haq Siddiqui.
"But luckily, now it's changing. A good tradition is taking root and we have begun to appreciate in their life those who have devoted their lives to a great cause. Mr Joyo is one of them," he said. He said that Joyo was the identity of Sindh and its future. The circumstances in which he had written a book titled "Save Sindh, Save the Continent" in 1928 persisted, unfortunately, till this day even after passage of almost a century. MPA Mehtab Akbar Rashdi said that Joyo was the voice of an entire century. His books and writings showed that Sindh was his first and last love, she said.
She said that Joyo compared in a book two great poets of Sindhi and Urdu and wrote that Shaikh Ayaz was a poet of people while Faiz Ahmed Faiz was a poet of the elite literary class since the common man could relate to and understand Shaikh Ayaz but not to Faiz. Dr Saleem Memon termed Joyo as the man of principles and said that he even lost his marital status but did not surrender his principles adding that the books of Joyo Sahab published by Sindh University ought to be given to the students so that they may be aware of his ideology and develop their mental approaches.
Two books penned by Joyo were launched on the occasion. One was brought out by the Sindhology department named French Inqilab and another book Galhiyon Kitaban Joon was published by Pakistan Study Centre. Intellectual Jami Chandio, writer Dr Arfana Mallah, columnist Amar Sindhu, chairman Department of Sindhi Dr Anwar Figar Hakro, Sindhi Lang­uage Authority's former chairperson Dr Fehmida Hussain, intellectual Zulfiqar Halepoto, poet Adal Soomro, director SU Mirza Qaleech Chair Ishaque Samejo, Incharge director Institute of Sindhology Saeed Mangi and others also spoke at the conference.
A video documentary prepared by Institute of Sindhology was screened in the conference which highlighted Joyo's personality, literary work and efforts made for the betterment of the soil. Earlier, Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo chair established at Institute of Sindhology museum was inaugurated by the living legend Joyo Sahab himself in the presence of Dr Abida Taherani, Mazharul Haq Siddiqui and others. He on the occasion expressed happiness over the recognition of his over half century services which he rendered for the betterment of Sindh, Sindhi people and Sindhi literature. Later, the unique photo gallery of Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo was displayed at Arts Faculty Building. The visitors took interest on the unique photographs and appreciated the efforts of university administration.