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This Indo-Pak poetic bonhomie was only to be seen to be believed with the audience’s echoes of Mukarrar, Irshad,Subhan Allah, Mashallah etc!

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Poets from India, Qatar, Canada and Pakistan enthralled the packed Sir Shankar Lal Hall of Modern School, New Delhi, at the 45th edition of the annual Mushaira. Untouched by the political Indo-Pak tension, one could see poets of both the countries hugging, patting, kissing, shaking hands and mingling in most cordial way.

Though politicians seem to be a misfit in a literary gathering, somehow they do love poetry as well as was the case with Salman Khurshid, Minister of Minority Affairs, who said that the Poets in all Indo-Pak Mushairas serve as catalysts to peace-sharing, love and friendship irrespective of the political tensions the two countries have.

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Faraz, always concerned about cementing the friendly bonds between India and Pakistan, was fondly remembered by Pakistan’s eminent woman poetess Zehra Nigah who in her poem titled, Gul Badsha”, grieved why so much blood was being shed at the borders that her country shares with India and Afghanistan. “As neighbours we should become reliable friends and put an end to all this bloodshed,” Nigah said.

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The poets invited included Bekal Utsahi, Javed Akhtar, Shahryar, Munawwar Rana, Wasim Barelvi, Popular Merthi, Mazzar Bhopali, Deepti Mishra, Malikzada Manzoor Ahmed and Anwar Jalalpuri from India while Pakistan was represented by Zehra Nigah, Zakia Ghazal, Tabish Abbas and Naim Akhtar. Qatar’s Jalil Nizami was also one of the star poets. While these poets were reciting their mind blowing creations, the packed housefull enlivened the environs with appreciation.

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Seeing the never ending popularity of Urdu poetry, this literary event was started by Sir Sriram, Founder of the Delhi Cloth Mills (DCM) group of industries in 1954 and it has enjoyed the patronage of leading lights of the nation like former prime ministers Jawahar Lal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Inder Kumar Gujaral.

The Mushaira, named after two eminent Urdu and Persian poets of Delhi — late Lala Murli Dhar ‘Shad’ and Sir Shankar Lall ‘Shankar’ — has assumed the character of a literary institution of great importance in the world of Urdu ghazal. Lala Murlidhar ‘Shad’ and Sir Shankar Lal ‘Shankar’ were great poets of Urdu and Persian from Delhi and revered figures in Pak literary circles.

Though poets and writers can’t change the world, yet they always strive to reform, as Indian poet, and litterateur Bekal Utsahi, stated in his couplet on the plight of the street squatters, “Pehle tum waqt ke mathhey ki lakiron se milo/ Jaao footpath pe baithe heeron se milo,” (Go meet the hapless poor, unfortunate and unheeded/ They are all like the priceless jewels unpolished!)

Javed Akhtar, as usual, was witty and pointed with “Tu kisi pey jaan ko nisar kar dey, dil ko qadmon pey dal dey/ Hoga tera yahan koi, eh khayal dil say nikal dey!” (Go and achieve any limit of sacrifice for others/ Nobody is going to support you like brothers!)

The pick of the fond gathering was Kolkata based Munawwar Rana enthralling with his poetry on humane concerns including relationships like mother, daughter friends and others as in this couplet, “Lehjey mein khaksari ka chumbak hei is liye/ Jo shakhs bhi mila Munawwar ka ho gaya!” (Benevolence is the magnetic pull in my behaviour/ To them compassion has endeared me as Munawwar!)

Most of the poetry reflected war, terror, corruption and human uplift, however there wasn’t any dearth of love poetry with Qatar based poet Jalil Nizami, “Mah-e-nau tum dekhney chat par hargiz na jana/ Sheher mein Eid ki tarikh badal jayegi!” (Dear, don’t go to the roof to sight the Eid moon/ Admirers will delay the festival’s date soon!)

Aijaz Popular Merthi too converted the audience into hysterical laughter when he narrated one couplet after the other, “Yaad aaney lagey chacha Ghalib, ya Ilahi yeh maajra kya hei/ Taadta hoon har ladki ko warna aankhon ka fayeda kya hei?” (O God, why I’m reminded of Mirza Ghalib, the deity of love/ Of late I find no use of eyes, unless I eye all pretty girls!”

The nazim (convener) of this majestic and imposing poetic convergence was Anwar Jalapuri, who sadly commented on the disappearing monuments of Delhi, “Maqbarey tak nahin salamat ab/ Thhi kabhi aan baan ki Dilli!” (In Delhi, mausoleums too are razed to the ground/ This is not the Delhi of harmony unbound!)

Shehryar, a star poet bored the people with his oft repeated couplets and was also hooted. Absence of Nawaz Deobandi and Rahat Indori was felt by many connoisseurs of Urdu poetry. This homage can be concluded to the glorious Indo-Pak Urdu tradition with this Nida Fazli couplet — “Hindu bhi mazey mein hai aur Musalamn bhi/ Insan yahan bhi pareshan hai aur wahan bhi!” (Neither Hindu is worried here nor Muslim is tarried there/ Here as well there, it’s the human who has most suffered)