Pashto poet living miserable life

PESHAWAR: Noted Pashto poet Akmal Lewanay was once the lifeline of almost every political gathering of the Awami National Party but nowadays he is living a miserable life at his home, suffering from acute paralysis for the last two years. Besides reciting his revolutionary poems at the public meetings of ANP or other literary gatherings, Akmal Lewanay also used to sell books and magazines outside these functions, which was the sole source of income for the 63-year-old poet from Katlang area of Mardan. “I have rented a shop at Katlang bazaar for the books and magazines but hardly shift these selling items to the literary or political functions to Peshawar or other far-flung areas of the province,” the paralysed Akmal told The News in Peshawar, where he had come for medical treatment. Author of three books, Akmal Lewanay was not only liked by the audience in the ANP political gatherings but also the nationalist leaders sitting on the stage often requested Akmal to recite his famous poems on the occasions. “I had actively participated in the meetings and rallies led by Baacha Khan and Wali Khan but when Abdul Wali Khan and other nationalist leaders were jailed, I read out a revolutionary poem at a public gathering in Mardan, presided over by Begum Nasim Wali Khan.” He recalled that the poem had received much praise from the audience and on the request of Begum Nasim he had been reciting such poems at almost all political gatherings of the party across the province. However, the erstwhile energetic poet has been confined to his hometown for the last two years, as he cannot move without support of a walking stick. “I have been suffering from paralysis since 1991 but for the last two years it has affected my legs,” he added. He said he was neither receiving any stipend from the provincial government nor has he any expectation from the ANP-led government. “I have not been affiliated with the nationalist movement for any worldly gains but composed poetry and struggled as per my conscience and ideology,” he said, adding that he was receiving stipends from the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL). Akmal Lewanay is also known for his comic poetry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan and has got published three books titled ‘Tortum’, ‘Chapawona’ and ‘Lewantoob’. He also has to his credit an unpublished collection of comic poetry and wants to publish it at the earliest.