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Mehfil-e-Mushaira
Mehfil-e-Mushaira
by Rubina Firdaus
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Mehfil-e-Mushaira - was held in Apex, NC at the Carey C. Jones community center
on May 1, 2004. This was the second such gathering of Urdu poets in the RTP
area. The first Mehfil-e-Mushaira took place five years ago in 1999. This year's
event, once again promised to satisfy the poetic appetites of Urdu lovers in the
Triangle area. Shahid and Farah Alam were instrumental in bringing distinguished
Urdu poets, both local and from different parts of the country to present their
work at this event.
Raees Warsi, who also presented his poetry, compered the event. The poets who
presented their work were Humaira Rehman, Shehla Naqvi, Naseem Farogh, Baqar
Zaidi, Wasif Hussain Wasif, Shakil Azad, Altaf Tirmiz, Noon Meem Danish, and our
local poets Afroz Taj, Jafar Abbas, Javed Qureshi, Khaleeque Hussain and Mustafa
Kamal. Friends and families of the poets also attended to cheer for the poets.
Taj, Jafar, and Javed represented Urdu Majlis, the local Urdu literary society,
and many of the audience members are also regular participants in Urdu Majlis.
The recited poetry ranged from complex and artfully phrased ghazals to simple
and touching couplets. The topics covered the gamut of emotions such as self,
love, betrayal and lust. Some poems dealt with today's pressing issues, while
others were in praise of God. A few couplets elicited a chuckle or two while the
others were downright funny.
The allure of an evening spent listening to Urdu poetry recited by distinguished
poets proved to be a great draw. The event was well attended and the audience
included South Asians from all walks of life. Many in the audience were well
versed in Urdu. There were several who were less proficient, but whose love for
Urdu was by no means lesser. Indeed, the Mushaira did not satisfy our appetites,
it whetted them for more Urdu poetry. Let's hope the Mehfil-e Mushaira becomes
an annual event.
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