By Bushra Alvi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Jashn-e-Bahar mushaira, the gala event held annually at the Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, had got off to a worrying start with a protestor from a right-wing Hindu group running onto the stage shouting anti-Pakistan slogans, This, however, could not disrupt the mood as a relaxed Delhi audience settled in for an evening of Urdu shaiyri at its best.
And once the mushaira began; it was raining Urdu poetry - ghazals and nazms, on Friday 12 April.
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Poets on Stage
Elaborating on the virtues of the Urdu language Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communication and Information Technology and the chief guest at the function, said that Urdu is a gentle language and can help spread the message of peace and tolerance in the world.
It is commendable how Urdu has been nurtured in our country and we need to ensure that it continues to be learnt by more and more people, especially the youth of the country. If we do not adopt Urdu, the country will remain incomplete as Urdu is a language that enfolds everybody in its embrace. Since technology is the need of the hour, he has suggested that a Google search engine be set up in Urdu alongside mobile messaging to facilitate the spread of the language and hence empower the youth of India.
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Prof. Hiroji
Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman, Press Council of India and the guest of honour said that it is a tragedy that we have ignored a language which is so essentially part of our heritage. Urdu does not belong to any religion or to any community. Very few people are aware that our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh writes his speeches in Urdu. He recalled that when he was a Supreme Court judge, he had told the Chief Justice of India to hold a mushaira in the Supreme Court. After a lot of opposition a mushaira was held twice on the lawns of the Supreme Court of India and hopefully more will be held in the future, he added.
Convinced that Urdu is the best shaiyri in the whole world, Justice Katju said the time has now come to revive interest in this language. He has read shaiyri of various languages from Soor, Tulsi, Subramania Bharati and Tagore to English poetry and American, French, German, Russian poets to Chile’s Pablo Neruda, etc. and he has found Urdu to be far different and far superior.
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Prof Waseem Barelvi
“Urdu zubaan mein dil ki awaaz nikalti hai….aur jis taqat aur jis andaz e bayan se nikalti hai, woh maine kisi duniya ki shaiyri mein nahin paya.”
The time has once again come to keep the flag of Urdu flying high, he added.
Justice Katju implored Prof. Waseem Barelvi, whose poetry is soft like flowers, to add more fire to his verses and raise a stronger voice against injustice in today’s world.
He also reiterated that the legendary poet Mirza Ghalib be honored posthumously by the Govt. of India with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award.
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Justice M Katju
“Urdu is recognition of our syncretic culture, our Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb. It is not just a language,” said Kamna Prasad, Founder of Jashn-e-Bahar Trust who organized the event, “it’s a whole culture. It’s the language of love. I would advise the younger generation to learn Urdu. Udru seekhiyay, ishq karne ka saleeka aajayayga!”
“Urdu is being studied by people all over the world which goes to show that there is something in the language definitely that attracts. There are three shaiyars today whose mother tongue is not urdu yet they are poets of repute. Through mushairas we are doing our bit to keep the language alive and the rest is up to people to converse in it more often and make it part of their daily language. We have put forward the proposal to our government to make Urdu a compulsory subject of study up to grade 5.
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Kamna Prasad
“A man is known by the language he communicates in and if our language is shireen (sweet) it will reflect on our character and personality as well,” added Prasad.
Japan was represented for the first time in this mushaira by Hiroji Kataoka, Professor of Urdu at Daito Bunka University. Professor Kataoka did his Bachelors and Masters in Urdu from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and later a 2 year Diploma from Karachi University. “Urdu is taught in three universities in Japan; Tokya University of Foreign Studies, Osaka University and Daito Bunka University,” said Prof. Kataoke whose translation of Ghalib’s Deewan, Iqbal’s Bang-e-Dara and Bal-e- Gibreel and Faiz’s poems has brought Urdu to people of Japan.
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Max Bruce from Austin, USA
Max Bruce, who teaches at Austin University, USA, once again enthralled the audience with his impeccable Urdu. Speaking earlier at an informal meet he said that he doesn’t write very vastly but whenever he does write Urdu poetry, it’s with passion. And this passion was very evident in the poems he recited.
Woh sada khud ko qalandar dekha, aaj apne mein Sikander dekha
Uski chaahat ka karishma hai yeh, har beyaban ko samandar dekha
The audience enjoyed his poetry so much that he was called back on stage for an encore.
The poets who graced the occasion were Fahmida Riaz, Karachi; Kishwar Naheed and Harris Khalique, Islamabad; Max Bruce, Austin; Omar Salim Al Aidroos, Jeddah; Mona Shahab, Washington; Farhat Shahzad, New Jersey; Zakia Ghazal, Toronto. From India - Wasim Barelvi, Javed Akhtar, Sheen Kaaf Nizam, Mansoor Usmani, Popular Meeruthi, Nusrat Mehdi, Aqeel Nomani and Aalok Srivastava.
Earlier in the evening chief guest Kapil Sibal also released the book ‘Nazir-e-Benazir,’ a collection of the verses of Nazir Akabarabadi, a people’s poet in true spirit also known as the “Father of nazm”. He also recited a touching poem on the ‘Nirbhaya’ incident.
The program was compered by Janab Mansoor Usmani.
[Photos by Bushra Alvi]