It was a memorable evening in all respect. The poetry lovers were so charged that even at two in the morning their thirst for poetry was not quenched at the “All-Pakistan Mushaira” that was organized by Aalami Urdu Markaz at Jeddah’s Pakistan International School on Thursday evening.
Anwar Masood, the renowned satirist from Pakistan who presided over the mushaira, aptly described it as “un-faramosh-able,” playing on the Urdu word for “forget” and mixing it with the English antonym.
Shikam ki aag liye phir rahi hai shahr ba shahr; Sag-e-zamana hain, hum kya hamari hijrat kya.
These were the words of Iftikhar Arif, the highly acclaimed poet who also heads Pakistan’s highest literary body, Muqtadara Urdu. On public demand, he recited his popular couplets on the issue of migration, as well as other couplets that he had brought for this special evening. Arif’s couplets on the pain of migration and other issues affecting our daily lives are quoted worldwide. His presence at any mushaira ensures a successful evening; this evening was no different.
Muhafiz-e-rawish-e-raftagan koi nahin hai; Jahan ka main hoon mera wahan koi nahin hai; Muqaddar ho gaya hai be dar-o-deewar rahna; Kahin tai pa gaya hai shahr ka mismaar hona.
A reflection of the current political situation in Pakistan and beyond was apparent in Arif’s compositions. But it was a literary session and therefore, unlike other mushairas in Jeddah and other cities, Arif and other poets remained true to the spirit of the evening and avoided populist poems with raw political sentiments.
Peerzada Qasim, a household name among Jeddah’s Urdu lovers, mesmerized the audiences with his recitations.
Ek tasweer banaai thi mukammal na hooi; Ek hi rang laho rang tha bharta gaya main; Sirf iqraar hi karta raha bekhaufi se; Yaani inkaar ke aashob se darta gaya main.
The soft-spoken Peerzada, who is also the vice chancellor of Karachi University, started off with “teht-e-lafz” (simple narration). But he is well-known for his “tarannum” (melodious delivery). So on intense public demand he had to recite some of his oft-repeated but still popular ghazals in tarannum.
Ab harf-e-tamanna ko sama’at na milegi; Bechoge agar khwab to qeemat na milegi; Lamhon ke ta’aqub mein guzar jaingi sadiyan; Yoon waqt to mil jaaiga mohlat na milegi
Salim Kausar was another star of the evening. One of his compositions “Main khyal hoon kisi aur ka, mujhe sochta koi aur hai…” is so popular throughout the subcontinent that the audiences did not allow him to leave the microphone without reciting it. But he did so only after regaling his fans with plenty of other ghazals.
Tum bhala kya nai manzil ki basharat doge; Tumto rasta nahin dete hamein chalne ke liye; Qaid karta hai rehaai ke bahane wo Salim; Aur phir raah nahin deta nikalne ke liye.
In fact, it was Salim who set the tone of the mushaira with his latest renderings.
Rasa Chughtai, a veteran poet of love and romance from Karachi, was at his usual best.
Khwab uske hain jo chora le jaai; Neend uski hai jo ura le jaai; Zulf uski hai jo use chhoo le; Baat uski hai jo bana le jaai.
Izharul Haq, though quite senior and well known for his columns, could hardly generate any excitement among the audiences.
The youngest among the guest poets was Zahoorul Islam Javed who had come from Dubai. His presence set a good precedent as the organizers generally ignore the talents in the Middle East and prefer to invite poets only from the subcontinent. Javed echoed the feelings of expatriates in his couplets.
Zahid Tractors sponsored the mushaira, which was organized in cooperation with the Consulate General of Pakistan in Jeddah. Zaighamuddin Azam, Pakistan’s consul general, attended the event till the end.
Besides guest poets, selected local poets were also invited. They were Naeem Bazeedpuri, Qamar Hyder Qamar, Tahir Jamil, Habib Siddiqi, Mohammad Mukhtar Ali, Anwar Ansari and Athar Nafees Abbasi, president of Aalami Urdu Markaz, who was the real force behind this grand mushaira.The mushaira was deemed a success as the 1,000-seat hall was full to capacity.
The organizers had to make extra seating arrangements in the open with close-circuit TV for latecomers. The space here was also fully occupied.But the mushaira ended on an anticlimax, thanks to the over-enthusiasm of some members of the audience. They overwhelmed Anwar Masood with the request for Punjabi poems. Language being a sensitive issue in the subcontinent, the compere, Aamir Khursheed Rizvi, tried to save the situation by declaring that Urdu was the language of federation in Pakistan while all the regional languages were dear to Pakistanis.
He urged the poet, who was also presiding over the function, to recite his poems in any of the Pakistani languages. Anwar Masood perhaps couldn’t suppress his strong urge and switched over to Punjabi after a very good start in Urdu when he said:
Amreekaa se jo roshni aati rahi paiham; Hum us pe dil-o-jaan se feda hote rahe; Kya is mein koi shak hai ke Ayyub se ab tak; Hum log Musharraf ba Zia hote rahe.
But he never came back to Urdu, thus ending the mushaira abruptly.
The real discovery of the evening was a local talent in the form of compere Aamir Khursheed Rizvi. Compering is an essential ingredient of any mushaira and ensures the success of any poetry session. His confident style and flawless language proved his worth beyond doubt.
This was the second annual mushaira organized by the Jeddah-based Aalami Urdu Markaz.