There are some poets who act and sing in Mushairas. Some succeed with their genuine poetic talent, while for many others acting skills and/or melodious voice is a success mantra. For the good looking young women, one of these qualities works as a ladder to acquire quick name and fame. The way in which cheer girls are presented to entertain spectators and get pubic attraction in the IPL cricket matches, these cheer poets also entertain Mushaira audience. These performers are carefully selected from a lot, not considering their poetic caliber but their physical attributes and singing or acting qualities. By the name of public demand, the trend of having cheer poets perform in Mushairas is increasing. At a Mushaira recently held in Riyadh, the organizer himself acknowledged this fact on the stage, in presence of many literary figures. The audience were curiously waiting for Mushaira to begin, which already got late for over an hour and a half. The chief organizer came on the stage to assure the audience that Mushaira will start soon. Naming the solo lady poet of the event, he said she has already started for the event and got stuck in the traffic. He went on to say openly “normally King Fahd Road is crowded every day. But today, there is more crowd on the road because our guest poetess is cruising through”. That is not all; the real drama began later, when the poetess was reciting her poetry on stage. During her narration, few women rose from their seats, came closer to the stage and pleaded the poetess that they are uncomfortable with what she is presenting. Some people may support inviting cheer poets to Mushairas so that new generation gets attracted towards Urdu. Some may call it an initiative or tactic to gather crowd for the Mushairas, which is a service for Urdu language to magnetize listeners to Mushaira. All said well, there should be some limit for it. Rather than serving, such heedless efforts may leave long lasting scar to our rich culture and heritage, said an Urdu lover who witnessed the fateful event. A lot of cultural events are held almost every weekend. Every one claims he is struggling for the development of Urdu language. But the real fact is that, organizing such events is a flourishing business. Now it would be interesting to see how the literary circles of Riyadh react to the current event. Will the Urdu lovers keep mum for the horrific insult of the great traditions of Mushairas? __
