Urdu Poetry Evening Mushaira in Canberra
Special Report to Sada-e-Watan Sydney

Bazm-i-Adab Canberra Inc (Urdu Literary Society of Canberra) organised a literary evening in Canberra on Saturday, 18 March 2006 to honour the visiting Indian Urdu poet and critic, Dr Hasan Arman Najmi for his contribution to Urdu literature. Dr Najmi is a notable literary figure and besides enriching Urdu language with his poetry, he is also an established critic and has published books reviewing the works of few contemporary Urdu poets.

In the first half of the ceremony, Mrs Khalida Yasmin Qureshi, President, Bazm-i-Adab, welcomed the guest of honour and visiting Sydney poets. She briefly informed the audience of the achievements of Bazm-i-Adab in the past year, especially highlighting the annual international Urdu poetry festival held in Canberra in July 2005. She also mentioned the aid campaigns that the Bazm initiated in October 2005 to help alleviate the sufferings of the Kashmir earthquake victims. Following her welcome note, Secretary Bazm-i-Adab, Mr Mohammed Ali reviewed the work of Dr Arman Najmi and paid him due tributes for his contribution to Urdu literature. Mr Arif Sadiq (Secretary, Urdu Society Australia, Sydney) also paid tributes to Dr Arman.

The second half of the evening saw poetry presentations from the visiting poet and poets from Sydney and Canberra. The poets who presented their latest work included Mr Mohammed Ali (Canberra), Mr Atique Siddiqui (Canberra) , Mr Awdjeet (Canberra), Mr Arwind Kalia (Canberra), Mrs Farhat Iqbal (Sydney), Mr Arif Sadiq (Sydney), Mr Abbas Gilani (Sydney), Mr Om Krishan Rahat (Sydney), Dr Rashee Malhotra (India) and Dr Arman Najmi (India). The session was presided by Om Krishan Rahat, a veteran Sydney based poet. Besides the poetry presentations, two prominent Canberra singers, Mr Iqbal Khan and Mrs Manju Bhardwaj sang poems of famous Urdu poets, Ghalib and Bahadur Shah Zafar. Mr Mohammed Ali was master of the ceremony.

During the refreshment break, newly published collection of poems of Mrs Farhat Iqbal, Tanhai kai Makan main (In the home of loneliness) was launched. The attendees were also handed in with copies of quarterly magazine of the Bazm, Bunyaad.

The evening will be remembered for a long time not only for enriching Canberra Urdu lovers with the latest Urdu poetry but also for providing a common platform to Pakistani and Indian community members of Canberra. Some 80 people who attended the evening enjoyed the whole proceedings sitting side by side, strengthening the notion that Urdu is a strong common fabric between the two nations. Seen through this spectacle, Bazm-i-Adab Canberra is doing a commendable job in bringing people from different cultures and origins together - some thing which is very important in today's circumstances.
 

Ms Ayesha Qureshi, Mrs Erum Nadeem, Mrs Khalida Yasmin Qureshi, Mrs Farhat Iqbal, Mrs Nasim Ali, Mr Iqbal Khan, Mr Mohammed Ali, Mr Nadeem Sheikh, Mr Arif Sadiq, Mr Abbas Gilani, Mr Om Krishan Rahat, Dr Arman Najmi, Mr Javed Butt & Mr Mohsin Sheikh
Email this page to a friend!