(Syed Mujeeb) Indian diaspora witnessed last night a unique amalgamation of languages, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi in the form of a Poetic Symposium known as Mushaira in Urdu and Kavi Sammelan in Hindi. After the successful and popular event last year, Urdu Hindi Cultural Association of NZ organized it again this year with a mix of national and international poets and renowned guests.
The program started with a very popular traditional genre of music known as ‘Ghazal’ in Urdu where participants sing famous couplets of Poetry composed in mesmerising tunes.
The occasion was ornate by well-known literary personalities in New Zealand and abroad. Prof Dr Shamim Ahmed of Aligarh Muslim University was the patron of the program and Brig Zahoor Ahmed, an attaché of Pakistan High Commission was present as a distinguished guest.
Prof Shamim Ahmed presided over the Mushaira Program by lighting up the candle after which Host Mr Tauqeer Khan (Piami) and radio host and socialite Ms Roopa Suchdev conducted the program.
High calibre poets such as Mr Syed Mujeeb Hyderabadi, Mr Hassan Mujtaba, Mr Brijinder Singh, Ms Saima Siddiqui, Mr Majeed Ghaus, Mr Nayeem Latif recited their composition.
Most notable among these was Mr Majeed Ghouse who recited excellent composition of poetry despite urdu not being his mother tongue. Mr Ghouse is from Andhra in India and speaks Malayalam.
Poets reciting in Hindi and Punjabi were Mr Manjeet Singh, Mr Harjeet Singh, Mr Somnath Gupta, Mrs Suman kapoor , Mr Rajan Bakshi, and little star of the evening Ms Rita Arora who recited a Hindi-Urdu fusion poetry named ‘Aansu’ (the tears) and touched through the hearts of the audience.
Program which started with Ghazal program was conducted by Prof SD Madhur who is a respected personality in traditional musical education. He invited an array of talented individuals who mesmerised the audience with their soul touching voices. Most notable among these were Mr Kiran Jeet Singh, Mr Nisar Mirza, Ms Moushmi, Mr Pankah Arora and Mr Mohd Azim.
Program was concluded by the Chief Guest Mr Shamim Ahmed who said that he met Mr Syed Mujeeb Hyderabadi on Facebook who invited him to come to Auckland and be part of this poetic symposium. He further said that languages don’t recognize the geographical boundaries and find their place as far away from the origin as New Zealand. Urdu is a sweetener language which leaves diret impact on heart and souls. He suggested that Urdu has got the same place in Languages as Taj Mahal has the space in buildings and landmarks, as it is the language best suited to express love and affection. Dr Ahmed also said that Urdu has descended from Ameer Khusru to Sant kabeer Daas who both used it eloquently to express their thought and revolutionary ideas. Both Ameer and Kabeer were the Visionaries who inherited the richness of Urdu Language and later passed it on to the next generation.