By Umer Nangiana
It was Urdu poetry at its best as the festival that has been celebrating the language’s literary side returned to its original, more familiar abode. Majlis-e-Frogh-e-Urdu-Adab (Organisation for the promotion of Urdu Literature), Qatar returned this year with its 19th annual Aalmi Frogh-e-Urdu Awards (International Awards for Promotion of Urdu literature) and Mushaira (Poetic symposium) to Al Majlis Hall, Sheraton Hotel where it has been taking place for years.
Bracing for ghazals (a form of Urdu poetry), Al Majlis was decked in all red. Hundreds of men and women were in audience. And the poets, mainly from India and Pakistan besides other countries, came up with couplet after couplet attracting the traditional “wah wah, bahut khoob (phrases used to appreciate good poetry).”
The creator of these lines, Main tere sang kaise chalun sajna, tu samandar hai, main sahilon ki hawa (How do we get along together, you are like sea and I the wind at seashore), Amjad Islam Amjad from Pakistan was among the chief guests of the programme.
An award-winning poet and playwright from Pakistan, Amjad has been a proponent of Urdu literature for decades. He is one of the most celebrated poets whose poems and ghazals have been given voice by renowned singers in both Pakistan and India.
He had to take the podium towards the end. Once he was up there, he delivered. Last year, it was Professor Waseem Barelvi from India, who had won accolades from the audience.
The mushaira began after the 19th annual Aalmi Frogh-e-Urdu Awards were presented to two distinguished literary personalities from India and Pakistan respectively, Prof Dr Khurshid Rizvi and Musharraf Alam Zauqui in a ceremony attended among others by Pakistan’s Ambassador to Qatar Shahzad Ahmad and Qatari government officials.
The awards are given every year by Majlis to people who rendered services to the propagation of Urdu language and literature. The chief organiser of programme and Majlis chairman, Muhammad Atiq, thanked the Ministry of Culture, Art and Heritage of Qatar for continuously extending its support to the symposium.
“It is a matter of great pride and pleasure for us that the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage is continuing to extend its support and co-operation to our annual functions, which we have been holding every year since 1994,” said the Majlis Chairman.
Launched in 1996, the Aalmi Frogh-e-Urdu Adab Award comprises a gold shield and cash award of Pakistani Rupees 150,000 and are presented annually to two Urdu writers; one from India and the other from Pakistan, for their contribution to the promotion of Urdu language and literature.
The 2015 Awards were decided by two independent juries headed by Prof Dr Gopi Chand Narang, former Chairman of India’s Sahitya Academy, and included Prof Shafey Kidwai, Prof Akhter-ul-Wasey and Dr Waseem Begum as members in India. From Pakistan, Intezar Hussain, renowned Urdu scholar and fiction writer headed the jury that also included Prof Dr Salim Akhter, Masud Mufti and Amjad Islam Amjad.
Amjad along with Anwar Shaoor from Pakistan and India’s reputed Urdu scholar, Prof Shafey Kidwai and renowned poet, Munawar Rana recited their poetry. The comic relief for this year was provided by famous comic poet from India, Popular Meeruti.
He was called back to the podium every time he wanted to finish and leave by the audience that thoroughly enjoyed his poetry. known for his style and verbal expression, Meeruti entertained the audience for almost half an hour.
Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, is a combination of Persian, Arabic and Turkish languages and is spoken and understood in India and other parts of South Asia.
Top Urdu poets from India, Pakistan, USA, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Oman participated in the mushaira that lasted for over five hours. Presided over by Prof Dr Khurshid Rizvi, the award winner from Pakistan, the poetic symposium witnessed contemporary Urdu poetry from names such as Munawwar Rana, Mehshar Afridi, Madan Mohan, Danish and Rashid Anwar from India and Prof Dr Khurshid Rizvi, Anwer Shaoor, Amjad Islam Amjad, Aslam Kaulsari and Shahid Zaki from Pakistan.
Rehana Qamar from USA, Dr Sabahat Wasti from Abu Dhabi, Khalid Sajjad from Kuwait, Riaz Qamar from Oman and Doha-based poets Shaukat Ali Naaz, Syed Fahimuddin and Amjad Ali Serwer also presented their poetry. The Majlis also released a special souvenir on the occasion.
The Mushaira returned to its traditional venue of Al Majlis in Sheraton Doha this year. Photo by Umer Nangiana
