Saudi Gazette JUBAIL — It was an evening of poetic spirituality where Urdu poetry in its all glory and majesty unfolded its character of a symbol of unity in diversity. It was an evening where poet after poet enthralled the audience with recitation of their ghazals, nazms and geet, covering nearly all genre of Urdu poetry. What made the occasion special was its celebration of Urdu literature, education and sports. The evening was organized by Bhopal NRI Forum in the Eastern Province, which is involved in several sporting, cultural, educational and literary activities. The Mushaira (potery evening) was called "Karwan-e-Bhopal (Carvan of Bhopal) and was held at SADAF Beach Camp in Jubail Industrial City Friday evening. Shaheryar Mohammad Khan, president of Bhopal NRIs Forum welcomed all the poets and guests and presented a report on the activities of his forum. He said the main aim of the forum was to generate awareness on the importance of education among the Indian community and provide all possible assistance to the needy students. He said, his organization was also active in encouraging sporting events, especially hockey which is a national game and a passion of Bhopal residents. He thanked well known philanthropist and businessmen Nadeem Tareen for his support and participation in the event. He then introduced the poets to the audience and invited them to the stage. The poetry session that was attended by more than 1,000 people from Jubail and Dammam was chaired by legendary poet Waseem Barelvi and was conducted by Shiraz Mehdi "Zia". Shiraz a young and budding poet with substance at times got lost in his role as a conductor and poet himself. His excitement was evident from the fact that at times he took more time in introducing a poet than the poet during his rendition. He initiated the session with his couplet: "Tujh ko Warse mein agar yeh Funn-e-parwaz mila; . Ab tak kyuon nahi phir Nuqrat-e-Aghaz mila," (If you inherited the art of flying then why could not you get a right start) set the tone of the mushaira. He then invited young poet of Saudi Arabia Baqar Naqvi, who with his subtle thought and simplicity hit the right chord. His couplet: "Aap Jab se shareek-e-safar ho gaye; Raste khud bakhud mukhtasar ho gaye" (My journey to my set destination became easy and shorter the moment I got your companionship) Syed Iqbal Talib, a known name in Saudi literary circle who has recently released his collected works, presented his philosophical thought through these line "Mein Ro raha tha khada Qartaba ki masjid mein; Kahan se aye the hum kis tarah kidhar se gaye. (Citing the past glory of Islam he was lamenting on the causes of the present decay). Talib was followed by Mohammad Ayuob Sabir who enthralled the audience with is rendition "Yeh Duniya ek Dhoka hai Khudara Hosh mwein aao; Yehi awaz dekar ek Qalandar laut jata hai" described the falsehood of human existence and life being nothing but a mirage. Nayeem Javed lamented the increasing nakedness of the society and a called for a crusade against this so-called modernism. He said : "Tum Gharanon ko Bazaar karte Raho; Mein Redain liye har nagar jaoonga" (You do your best to bring your families in the open But I shall never give up and move from city to city to defend the dignity and vanity) Poetess Qudsia Lali also impressed the audience with her couplet: Yehi Khayak to Roke hai Khudkushi se mujhe; Badi shaded Mohammat hai Zindigi se mujhe. Well known poet Suhail Saqib came to the stage amid thunderous applause. His couplet : "Badh rahi hai mere seeney ki jalan abke baras; Ain mumkin hai jhulas jai jism abke baras ( My heart is decaying day by day in the decadent world and maybe this is a sign that my end is nearing) Iqbal Ahmad Qamar, Zahoor Islam Javed, and Khalid Mahmood Zaki also enthralled the audience with their sarcasm, punch hunor and purity of love. Famous Indian poet Iqbal Ashar known for his famous Nazm "Urdu" was greeted by thunderous applause as he ascended the dais. "Urdu" is a nice nazm and very powerful rendition but now it has become too repetitive and from a reputable and blunt poet like Iqbal Ashar it is expected that it would not be presented continuously in every Mushaira. No doubt he recites it on public demand but a poet of his stature is one who decides his own rules and guides the audience His new couplet "Na jane kitne chiraghon ko mil gaiu shohrat; Ek Aftab ke bewaqt doob jane se," showed his craft and depth of thought by his metaphorical use of the sun and lamp. His love poem "Thehri Thehri si Tabiyat mein rawani aye; Aaaj phir yaad Mohabbat ki kahani aayee" depicted the effect of love on human nature. After a forceful rendition of Rehbar Jaunpuri whose hard hitting couplet on existing political scene in India woke up the crowd, Shiraz finally invited India's legendary poet Waseem Barelvi to thunderous applause. His couplet "Usoolon per jahan aanch aye takrana zaroori hai; Jo Zinda ho to Zinda Nazar aana zaroori hai" (If your basic principles are questioned then to defend them you must fight because if you are really alive then you should show that you are alive) was the stellar poetry of the Mushaira. Earlier, The annual function of Bhopal NRIs started with a welcome note by Syed Iqbal Hussain, director advisory board, and the program was anchored by President Shaheryar Mohammed Khan. Educationist Dr. Nadeem Tarin was the chief guest of the function and presented several awards in different fields. In sports category, Mehmood Khan an Indian national hockey player was presented with "Lifetime Achievement Award 2016". Mubashshir Mohammed Khan, student of Dunes International School Al-Khobar was awarded with "Best Hockey Player Award 2016" and Syed Hadi Hussain student of Indian School Dammam was awarded "Upcoming Hockey player 2016" and the Hockey teams of Dunes school and Indian School Dammam were honored with medals. Dr. Naeem Tarin and Amjad Khan director Dunes Al-Khobar jointly presented hockey awards. In his address Shaheryar Mohammed Khan highlighted the "Importance of Education for all. "He stressed education is the best weapon against poverty and it is the responsibility of every educated person to spread education among those who have no recourses. The key members of the organizing team included Fakhrudden Ali Ahmed, Junaid Dad Khan, Tahir Khan, Aamir Rasheed, AsimIqbal, Mohammed Akber, Umer Quraishi, Farooq Quraishi, Rehan Arshad, Ayaz Irfan, Ayan Arshad,Faizan, Tabrez Khan, Aftab Khan, Mohammed Sajid, Farhan Fareed, Furqan Fareed. Among the other notable personalities at the event were Dr. Attique Ahmed Khan, Shahid Ahmed Khan, Aijaz Khan, Syed Zulfiqar, Abrar Pasha, Dr. Zahoor, Zulfiqar Alam, Tanzeer khan, Meraj Ansari, Anees Bakhsh, Waheed lateef, Junaid bin Idrees, Nayeem Zaidi, Faisal Zaheer, Mehmood Ansari, Shahid Azmi, Arshad Raza, Mohammed Ayub Khan, and many others who came from Jeddah, Riyadh, Al-Hassa, Abaqiq, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar to witness the great event. Mohammed Saleem proposed vote of thanks, and the Urdu speaking community in Saudi Arabia was all praise for the organizers for a successful and wonderful event.
