Poetic soiree held in Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi

No matter what the city’s air — the sunshine or rain — the venue is near or far-off, the Pindiites love to listen to poetry. Al-Qaim Hospital, Saidpur Road, took lead in hosting the all city ‘Mushaira’ held yesterday at its air-conditioned auditorium.

The ‘Mushaira’ was held in the backdrop of the centennial celebrations of the Farhat Literary Circle. It struck a chord with Pindiites. The mesmerised audience was hooked on to their seats. ‘Mushaira’ brought out some eccentrics as well but no poet’s feelings were hurt.

The ‘Mushaira’, a greatly popular and exceptional cultural annual event of the Circle drew an enthusiastic crowd of poetry lovers. The poets included luminaries such as Nusrat Zaidi, Dr. Ghazanfar Hashmi, Rasheed Saqi, Ali Muhammad Farshi, Naseeme Sahar, Khalid Iqbal Yasir, Dr. Nisar Tiurabi, Ziauddin Naeem, Dr. Farhat Abbas, Jamil Yousaf, and a host of other well-known poets like Farkhanda Shamim, Saira Bano, Auragzeb Sajan, Abid Maroof, Ahmad Zahoor, Shamsa, Shahid Jafary, Qayyum Tahir, Shazia Akbar, Mazhar Masud and Z. Rabbani.

Ziauddin Naeem graced the gathering as chief guest. A large number of the city’s literati and glitterati added glamour to the occasion. Nisar Turabi was the master of ceremony.

The credit for the success of ‘Mushaira’ goes to the participating poets, who recited their moving and touching poetry with demands to repeat from the thrilled audience. Several were singled out for the praise of ‘wah wah’ that followed the calls ‘mukarrar, mukarrar’.

There was an assortment of topics with some poets alternating between the inspiring and commonplace. Unfolding their feelings in a striking language, they kept the audience in delight. There was a mix of the traditional and modern, distinctiveness and multiplicity in all the recited ‘ghazals’ and ‘nazms’.

Farhat addressed the audience with a sure confidence and appeal drawing ‘bahut khoob’ both for his ‘ghazal’ and generosity. The crowd buzzed and wriggled with edginess.

The poets were very excited with the arrangement and the reaction from the audience on good poetry. They said that a ‘Mushaira’ blossoms when poets, poetry, audience, and the arrangement interact in a simultaneous way. Every one of these features merged fabulously, making this ‘Mushaira’a huge achievement. A number of veteran ‘Mushaira’-goers articulated their feelings about the ‘Mushaira’. A best part of them were of the view that the ‘Mushaira’ was outstanding.

In the wings, numerous part-time, self-published poets were seen giving their poetry books to the famous ones. Many were keen to speak to anyone who will lend an ear.

Some samples of poetry recited at ‘Mushaira’:

Nusrat Zaidi:

‘Kia batayain yaad naheen kub ishq kay hum beemaar huyay

Aisay laga hai arsa guzra hum ko yeh azaar huyay

Rasheed Saqi:

Mil hee jayay ga kabhi dil ko yaqeen rehta hai

Who isi shehr ki galyoun mein kaheen rehta hai

Munawwar Hashmi:

Asaan kis qadar hai alaajay ghamay hayaat

Dekha kisi ne payaar se tu zaghm bhat gayay

Abid Maruf:

Biphri yakh basta hawaoun mein thithartay logo

Thori due aur chalo agla nagar dhoop ka hai

Nisar Turabi:

Tumam umr jisay shiddatoun se chaha tha

Usi ka naam na tha umr ki kahani mein

Ziauddin Naeem:

Paarsayee bhi kaheen dhong hua karti hai

Kutch gunahgaar gunahgaar naheen bhi hotay

Khabtay azmat mein griftar naheen bhi hotay

Log kutch baayayse aazaar naheen bhi hotay

Farhat Abbas:

Kal who jab tanha kabhi houn gay tu yaad aauon ga main

Ask bun kar aankh ki putli pe lehraoun ga main

Waqt ki taareekh mein mehfooz hai meri baqa

Mar kay bhi harfe haqaek apnay dohraaoun ga main