NEGM ~ star that shines

 

Ahmed Fouad Negm; vernacular poet and so much more.

Negm (meaning of name: star) Apt indeed. Negm is totally fascinating.

Negm captures the spark of hope that is far from empty, the haze of light we can but feel and know about in our innermost being; one we can indeed all grasp but only if lucky enough to 'it' possess, the 'it' in this case being 'Egyptian roots', or indeed: an affinity with such~ as felt and perceived not only by so many Egyptians but by a great deal more who have visited, lived and truly experienced Egypt and its people~

another world, another home to the one they feel to be their own.

It is indeed worth familiarising ourselves with Negm, an old soul youthful in clarity of wisdom and earthy appeal. All affectation and superficial modernisation kept effortlessly at bay. His appearance matches his clarity of thought, unadulterated, with no streak of any pretentious class distinctions present, whatsoever; an appearance casually expressed through modest, smart, national attire with no frills of any kind; strikingly contrary to so much of an adverse nature indeed present in today's society. It is through lack of all affectation that Negm's incredibly witty and shrewd faith in the old genuinely surviving spirit of an Egyptian shines.

An interview with Negm broadcast only yesterday with a view as to what to expect from imminent forthcoming elections end of this month was met with twinkly-eyed perception: his reflection upon how Egypt has managed to retain its roots and quite singular traits in spite of all the slumber years and all the hooha now present. Negm's confidence is anchored to the rich soil of the Nile bed and remains inspiring .. challenging; a breathing antidote to the current despairing views widely exhibited today. His perspective looks upon all such despair as transient, noting it to be of little consequence in the grand scale of a people's multihued history. To every question put to him about people's present anxieties, Negm reiterates with an inexhaustible fountain of analysis how these existing anxieties are indeed the very reason why people need not be anxious!

Without any anxiety there would be no trepidation, no determination, no enthusiasm. In other words: no safe-guard against pitfalls inevitably encountered along the trek of change.

Without anxiety there would be nothing but complacency and apathy... direct foes of all aspiration~ Caution and visualisation of hopes, innate to an anxious stance, being the very tools needed with which to strive towards the real aim of this long-awaited, most grounded and most sound awakening.

With the rather inane repeated request of the interviewer to Negm as to how he would outline a step by step guide for the people, directing them 'how to vote' in the forth-coming elections, Negm's response is one of inner solidarity, unshaken. He points out how the true Egyptian has his 'own' guidance that dictates what is right and what is wrong; how the essence of the answer lies there, all else being nothing more than minor detail. Outlining how to go about voting is pushed to one side, Negm gestures with a side wave of his hands and a radiatingly tender smile. The Egyptian is now awake and highly unlikely to once again succumb for any length of time to any type of quashing, wherever that may come from.

Upon being asked whether it is true that Egyptians are religious people Negm states with calm and proud resolve that yes indeed, Egyptians have belief in their religion, be it Muslim, Christian or other; that Egyptians are people thankful at heart and express so with every fibre of their being regardless of any divisions that infiltrate or indeed percolate. Egyptians are diverse and acceptant of each other in all their diversity and in answer to whether the now visible trend of exremists are an acceptable part of the society Negm responds, yes of course..... if they are Egyptian~ to which the interviewer responds, even though they fly the Saudi flag? That is exactly what i meant responds Negm: IF they are Egyptian and the twinkle in his eyes says the rest.