Mushairas or poetry symposia are nothing new to the huge Urdu speaking expat community in Jeddah. Literary organizations based in the Kingdom have been organizing Mushairas to quench the thirst of the Urdu poetry aficionados here. One such evening in Jeddah brought together some eminent names of Urdu poetry from Pakistan. Like previous years the Aalami Urdu Markaz (AUM) this year too lived up to its reputation of hosting memorable poetry evenings. Memorable indeed was the evening as lovers of Urdu poetry came in droves to enjoy the various genres of poetry. The Mushaira, which began with the recital of poems by local poets, took on various forms as it proceeded well into the wee hours. Ghazal, Tanz-o-mazah, Nazm, Hamd all genres of Urdu poetry were well presented. Yet the evening belonged to young Mohsin Changezi from Quetta, who recently received Tamga-e-Imtiaz award from President of Pakistan. A new face for Jeddah, Changezi won many a heart with his sweet Ghazals: Aik hi hath main pather bhi hay Aaina bhi; Is taluq main tu nuqsan bhi ho sakta hay Promising Tariq Subzwari, present an attractive poem which reflected the background of assassination of Hakeem Saeed in Karachi: Bay amaaN raat kay shehar main rooshni ka farishta tha wo; Hum nay socha nahiN dosttooN is dia'y ko Boojhatay howay. Prof. Inyat Ali Khan, who is famous for his humor and satire, touched upon many burning social and economic issues. He touched a live wire, so to say, when he commented on the issue of load shading of electricity in Pakistan. The marquee erupted into an instant “wah wah” when he recited: Wo tu chalay bhi aiya'y magar jab howa shooru; Gulshan ka karobar tu bijli chali gaie. Aamer Kursheed conducted the Mushaira well. Local poets who took part in the Mushaira were Farooq Monis, Nasim-e-Saher, Syed Qamer Haider Qamer, Mohammed Mukhtar Ali, Mohsin Alvi, Anwar Ansari, Shoukat Jamal and host Ather Nafees Abbassi. Ather Abbassi, President AUM, welcomed and thanked the guest and sponsors. Hamid Islam Khan, Secretary General, AUM, presented a brief introduction of the society and announced that a literary library will soon be established.
