Muhammad Mujahid Syed Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — "Urdu's beauty has attracted expatriate community living in Saudi Arabia. I, during my long stay in this beautiful country, have seen many people learning Urdu language. I have seen Malayali, Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi and Pashto-speaking people, speaking Urdu fluently here. In fact, Urdu has become lingua franca in the Middle East. The people learn Arabic for professional purposes but they use Urdu as lingua franca in these countries. The Mushairahs and literary gatherings have become very popular during the last four decades in Saudi Arabia and Middle East," said Syed Fareed Maharaj while addressing the welcome dinner hosted by Majlis-e-Ilm-o-Adab, Wednesday night at the residence of Syed Faizan Ahmad. The attendees of the event agreed with Maharaj's observation regarding Urdu language's present state in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia. Maharaj, who hails from a noted family of the famous city Ajmer, Rajasthan, is presently in the Kingdom. Other participants of discussion Saeed Akhtar, Eng. Khalid, Faisal Imtiyaz, and Syed Amir Naqvi also expressed their views regarding the history and evolution of Urdu language in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia. They were of the opinion that Urdu has a big scope in the Middle East. Senior Pakistani social activist Eng. Aziz chaired the event. He, recalling the past days, added flavor to the talk with his memories of the intellectuals, journalists, poets and engineers from the subcontinent who took part in the development of the Kingdom. “Saudi Arabia has given us so much during our stay but the role of the intelligentsia from the subcontinent will be long remembered in our host country too, for making it another home and giving birth to a composite beautiful Urdu-Arabic culture.” The program began with the recitation of a few verses from the Holy Qur'an by Syed Muhammad. Poet and intellectual Saeed Akhtar poured his heart in his Naat. Ahmad proposed the vote of thanks. Faisal Imtiyaz was master of the event. The gathering offered its prayers for the soul of famous Indian poet Dr. Kaleem Aajiz, who has passed away recently.
