KARACHI: A four-day International Urdu Conference kicked-off at the Arts Council of Pakistan on Thursday.

Speaking at the very first inaugural session, the speakers said that vibrancy of the Urdu language is such that anyone having a heart would marvel at it.

“Urdu is a miracle of languages,” said the session chair, Zahra Nigah. However she lamented the fact that literally creators of this language do not have at their disposal the resources and opportunities to sustain.

The inaugural session included addresses by famed literary people Kishwar Naheed, Muneeza Hashmi, Noorul Huda among others, while Gopi Chand Narang  virtually joined the session from India.

Narang, who was born in Karachi and belongs to Baloch family, said that Urdu is part of his DNA, while also adding that this region is “very fertile in terms of language, as so many languages are not spoken anywhere else that are spoken in this region”.

“Along with politeness, there is also the fragrance of our soil. In Urdu, the sounds of our earth are heard. The beauty of Urdu has been further enhanced,” said renowned educationist and researcher Dr Jaffar Ahmed.

Among the inaugural programs, a session titled ‘Faiz Ahmed Faiz’ was held to shed light on the revolutionary poet’s work. It concluded that his poetry has drawn from facts and therefore it is timeless and universal. “His poetry should not be associated with any occasion. He has recited many poems even before the time of Zia-ul-Haq like his famous poem ‘Hum Dekhein Gein’,” said writer Zahra Nigah said.

The opening day ended with a concert performed by a local band housed in the Arts Council Musical Academy (ACMA).