Poets who participated in the annual all-India Mushaira at Indian International School in Jeddah Thursday night pose with Consul General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai and Consul for Commercial and Cultural Affairs Shakeel Ahmad. — Courtesy photo Syeda Amtul Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Famous Urdu poets from all over India mesmerized the expatriate community from the south Asian nation at an annual Mushaira (poetry gathering) organized by the Indian Pilgrims Welfare Forum (IPWF) here Thursday. The event was held with the support of the Consulate General of India. The traditional genre of Urdu poetry, “ghazal”, was the focus of attention as a crowd of more than 2000 Urdu poetry lovers enjoyed the lyrical rhymes and verses by the top Indian poets.Rayees Ansari, who compèred the function, briefly talked about the history of Urdu language in India. Nawaz Dewbandi beautifully presented a Naa't (hymn in praise of the prophet (peace be upon him). “Qalam uthao to hatoon ki Eid hoti hai, Kahon jo naat to lafzo ki Eid hoti hai.'' He then continued with a couplet of Salaam on the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “Assalam assalam Shah-e-zeshan ko, Shane-Qur'an koRooh-e-iman ko, Rab kay mehman ko.'' Rayees Nizami captured the current political situation in India in his verse: “Hum nay her yalghar ka radd-e-amal jam kar diya, Sarhadon pe sar diya, dushman ka sar kham kar diya, Hai bahut mazboot apna desh kiya karen, Aik corruption nay naak main dam kardiya.” His ghazal too was appreciated by the audience: “Muqaddar ka kisi kay jub sitara bol padta hai, To phir taied main uski zamana bol padta hai.” Sagar Tirpathi, a non-Muslim poet, mesmerized the audience by showing his love for Islam: “Yeh such hai ke main Hindu hun Musalman nahi, Yeh bhi such hai kay meray dil say Azan uthti hai,” and “Hamd kay shair gungunaon main, Bandagi kay mazay uthaon main, Lutf ki baat hai kay sar apna, Rakh kay sajday main bhool jaaon main.” Mehshar Afridi proved his mastery over ghazal: “Faqta kay hauslay jub say Aqabi hogaye, Janay kiyou tewar hawaoon kay Atabi hogaye, Ha wo tum nay aik dawa batlai thi, gham kay liye, Wo to joon ka toon raha per hum sharabi hogaye.” Masroor Abdi captured the attention of the audience: “Faza-e-dasht-e-junoon hosla badhati hai, Main wo charagh hoon jo hawa jalati hai, Apni pehchan ko khonay ki saza deta hai, Zard patton ko her aik ped gira deta hai.” Then the spotlight turned to Saba Balrampuri, a female poet whose compositions were greeted with applause: “Jub say khawaboon main tum anay janay lagay, Hum ghazal meer ki gungunanay lagay.” Imran Pratab Garhi, a young poet and a Hindi language student, highlighted the false propaganda against Islamic seminaries by the media in India: “Dharnay say na, Anshan say na, Qanoon say na, Anna Yeh bhrshtachar katam ab Islam say hoga.” Famous poet from Hyderabad Sardar Asar Humorist brought out the laughter with his satire in pure Deccani language: “Izzat apni bech ko main nokri to nai kara, Bhukka rah ko ji liya, chamcha giri to nai kara.” Jarrar Akbarabadi presented the true color of ghazal, which is romance: “Hum dewanon kay ashkon say aisi bhi humdardi kiya, Aap ka ujla ujla aanchal maila bhi hosakta hai.” Manzar Bhopali lived up to his reputation: “Thi wo rafter ke lamho main khala tak puhnchay, Tum gaye thay chand talak hum to khuda tak puhnchay.” Dr. Nuzhat Anjum, another female poet, touched a chord with the audience on the condition of society: “Kuch log chahtay hai mitana mera wojood, un ko khabar nahi ke fana hochuki hoon main.” Rayees Ansari's couplet too was a hit: “Hakim-e-waqt utar aya adakari pe, Log majbor hai zalim ki taraf dari pe, Kal isi jurm pe sar kaat diye jatay thay, Aaj azaz diya jata hai ghaddari pe.” Finally, with Dr. Rahat Indori on the microphone, the crowd went into a state of frenzy: “Faisla jo kuch bhi ho manzoor hona chahiye, Jung ho ya ishq ho bharpoor hona chahiye.” Earlier, the Mushaira started with lighting of the traditional candle by Consul General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai. He said the funds raised by the Mushaira will be used in the relief of pilgrims and the needy, especially those who are in prisons. He said more than 400 Indians are in jails and the money required to secure their release amounts to SR12 million. A contribution of SR10 from each Indian in Jeddah would be enough to help them, Kidwai said.
