Eighty-six-year-old Anand Mohan Zutshi Gulzar Dehlawi, a tireless promoter of Urdu language, was the center of attention. The evening, organized by Aligarh Muslim University Alumni in Jubail, was named Jashn-e-Gulzar in his honor. The popular Indian politician and businessman, Abu Asim Azmi, was the special guest.
Gulzar lived up to the expectations of his admirers, and warmed the wintry evening with his masterly address delivered in impeccably classical Urdu. Such was the impact of his delivery on the audience that virtually every sentence and couplet was punctuated by a crescendo of “wah-wahs”.
“This is my fourth visit to Saudi Arabia … The first was in 1955 when I was the personal guest of King Saud,” Gulzar explained. “The late king was impressed by the welcome address that I delivered when he was on an official visit to India in 1955 during Jawaharlal Nehru’s era,” he said.
Referring indirectly to the campaign against Urdu, he said it is not just any other language. “It is a complete heritage, it is part of our culture, it is the language of love and it defines who we are,” he said, and received a thunderous applause when he delivered these meaningful lines:
Among those listening to him with rapt concentration was Muzzaffar Razmi, the sensitive poet from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh who has won the attention and admiration of the entire Urdu world with his most popular couplet:
Razmi took the “mushaira” to a totally different level with excellent couplets.
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The one poet who literally stole the show was Dr. Syed Naeem Hamid Ali Al-Hamid, the impressive scholar and researcher from Madinah. So rich were his couplets and in such style were they delivered that everyone was left stunned. Naeem Hamid is known widely for having one of the finest and most elaborate Urdu libraries in Madinah. Not many, however, knew about his poetic prowess.
Majid Deobandi was in a class apart. His mere presence was a source of jubilation and comfort for the audience. His mellifluous rendition, coinage of metaphors, style of poetry and the use of modern idiom added to the luster of the evening. He was a huge hit.
At one point when there was a slight distraction from some members of the audience, Deobandi demonstrated the power of poetry. He defused the tension with his remarkable lines:
Popular Meeruthi, known worldwide for his humorous poetry, never disappoints, and this particular evening was no exception. Right from his first couplet to the last, he commanded complete and total attention. At many points, he brought the hall down by reciting his rib-tickling couplets, one of which was:
Mohammed Khursheed Alam Alig from Bahrain, too, recited exceptionally good couplets and gained both respect and applause. Among the local poets, Tariq Mahmoud Tariq, Suhail Saqib, Naz Muzaffarabadi, Shaukat Jamal, Afzal Khan, Farah Jaffry, Syed Sajjad, Syed Iqbal Talib and Syed Baqar Naqvi created favorable impressions and won the adulation of all in attendance.
The architects of the wonderful evening were popular and respected Aligarians Meraj-ul-Arifin Ansari and Wajahat Farooqui and their team that included Habib Shaikh, Mohammed Shibli and Mohammed Farooque Patel.
“Farooqui and Ansari deserve all our respect for organizing a memorable mushaira,” said well-known radio broadcaster Shoaib Nagrami. “Such events demonstrate their love for Urdu language and culture,” said prominent Pakistani business executive and author Rizwan Ahmad.
The Dammam-based writer and critic Nayeem Javed anchored the mushaira. Razia Mashkoor, the US-based editor of the literary Urdu magazine Deedahwar and moderator of Aligarh Urdu Club, was specifically appreciated for her efforts in promoting Urdu. She was given a beautiful plaque; a member of the audience received it on her behalf.
