Spreading The Magic of Urdu Poetry 51st Edition of the Shankar Shad (Indo-Pak) Mushaira Concluded
Spreading The Magic of Urdu Poetry
51st Edition of the Shankar Shad (Indo-Pak) Mushaira Concluded
New Delhi, 6th March 2016; Legacy of two legends, Sir Shankar Lall ‘Shankar’ and Murli Dhar ‘Shad’, patrons of Urdu Poetry and well known for their contribution to the social, educational and cultural life of New Delhi, was celebrated at the 51st edition of the Shankar-Shad (Indo-Pak) Mushaira at Modern School, Barakhamba Road here on Saturday night. With poets participating from America, Pakistan and India, the 51st Shankar Shad Mushaira, organized by Shankar Lall Murli Dhar Society celebrated the literary background shared between neighbours with an aim to spread the message of love and peace.
The stage was set for an enthralling evening with renowned names from the field of literature and poetry with stalwarts such as Pirzada Qasim (Karachi), Kishwar Naheed (Islamabad), Aziz Nabeel (Doha Qatar), Dr. Abdullah (U.S.) and Farhat Shahzad (U.S.) along with poets from India; Javed Akhtar (Mumbai), Anwar Jalalpuri (Lucknow), Waseem Barelvi (Bareilly), Popular Meeruthi (Meerut), Iqbal Ashhar (Delhi), Gauhar Raza (Delhi), Iffat Zarrin (Delhi), Nawaz Deobandi (Deoband), Kunwar Ranjit Chauhan (Delhi) and Malikzada Manzoor Ahmad (Lucknow) to recite their beautiful creations. After lighting the Shama (traditional lamp), the poet and host Anwar Jalalpuri sahib introduced the mushaira to the audience followed by a welcome address by Sh. Salman Khurshid, chief guest for the evening.
The Shankar Shad Mushaira has been enriched with the compositions of legendry poets like Josh Malihabadi, Jigar Moradabadi, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Kaifi Azmi, Ali Sardar Jafri and a host of other eminent poets over the years.
Sharing his experience, Farhat Shahzad said; “I’m very happy to be a part of this fest, a proud moment for any poet to be a part of Shankar Shad Mushaira, as this is not just an event but an effort to spread message of friendship, love and peace.”
Javed Akhtar sahib said, “I have heard about Shankar Shad Mushaira during my school and college days. One of the greatest and most beautiful aspects of this event is that these are being organized to promote the language, love for poetry and to keep the tradition intact. Usually, I don’t like to go to Mushaira’s, but this is one event I look forward to participate in, whenever possible. I feel honored to be a part of this. Another fact I love about the Shankar Shad Mushaira is that one gets to meet poets of great caliber and hear even better poetry, which itself is very rare.”
“I have heard the name of this Mushaira, when I use to study in India, it was an inspiration to be a part of such a platform”, said Dr. Abdullah. “This is one of the biggest and most prestigious fests for the entire literary community. I congratulate the organizers for carrying on and building upon the legacy of this Mushaira”, he further added.
Anwar Jalalpuri sahib had all praise for entire DCM Shriram Industries Limited Group and the Shriram family for keeping the tradition alive. He said, “I have been associated with this Mushaira for over 35 years now and have been the compere for the last five years as well; which, for me, is a matter for pride and glory. The standard of the event is very and this generation of the Shriram family is continuing its efforts in carrying forward the light of the Urdu language as well as protecting the tehzib for last 60-65 years.”
“The Shankar Shad majesty is legendary, it was narrated before partition when Shankar-Shad Mushaira’s were organized at Faisalabad (Pakistan) with participation of Indian and Pakistani poets. It continued until 1965 but after the war it couldn’t continue there. But the DCM Shriram Industries Group and the Shriram family have kept the light of the Urdu language, alive and have provided this platform for those who wish to hear or for those who wish to be heard. I’m happy to be here reciting my poetry. A big moment for me”, said, Kishwar Nahid.
Prof. Pirzada Qasim said, “this Mushaira has played an important role to keep the friendship between two neighbours as well as provide an opportunity for poets to share a platform to contribute and create a healthy society. I feel, in today’s world, people are running after their professionalism, leaving behind cultural values, tradition and other interests; they are not aware of what these traditions hold. I think, to keep such traditions alive and be the torchbearers of beautiful cultural and literary extravaganzas, we need to build versatility amongst the youth by providing them such programs and other activities.”
Dr. Rakhshanda Jalil, Member, Governing Board, Shankar Shad Mushaira said, “that this Mushaira which is also known as Indo-Pak Mushaira or as the DCM Mushaira, has continued even when relations between the two countries have varied between frosty and tempestuous. India and neighbouring Pakistan share a common base of culture and literature and what better way to spread the message of love and peace as well as to strengthen ties than through a literary medium”, she said.
Mr. Madhav B Shriram, Chairman, Shankar Lall Murli Dhar Society and Director, DCM Shriram Industries Limited was very happy with the proceedings. Sharing his happiness he said, “we put lots of efforts to engage poetry lovers and masses for the love of the language and the art of poetic oration. This language and culture in its entirety, along with the art of oration need to be preserved and nurtured against the face of extinction. In recent years, we have seen the revival of the language on a big scale with various literary festivals and events that are being organized and are delighted that we have been able to contribute in keeping a small slice of this tradition alive through our endeavor of the Shankar-Shad Mushaira”, he concluded.
