A successful event that lasted into the wee hours of the morning, the mushaira brought together poetry enthusiasts to revel in their love for the art. PHOTOS: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
The 24th International Urdu Mushaira, an annual feature of the calendar year since 1989, brought together the literati and social butterflies of the city of lights under the open sky. The event was organised by the Sakinan-e-Shehr-e-Quaid.
This year, however, the International Urdu Mushaira was not quite international as seven poets, who were expected to grace the event from India, were unable to make it to Pakistan.
Read: Literary gathering: Conference on Sino-Pak literature from 28th
Only one poet, Tahir Faraz, from Rampur in India managed to make it to the mushaira, as he does every year. Speaking to The Express Tribune, the poet said that he was always anxious to visit Pakistan, where he got to listen to the creative poems of his favorite poets. Faraz added that he attends the event every year and simply could not stop himself from making an appearance this year too.
As much as Faraz claimed to love Karachi, the audience seemed to love him all the more. He took the stage by storm as he started reading verses from his poems. The audience applauded as he leaned against a pillow on the stage and recited stanzas from his poems in his husky voice, which had just the perfect mix of romance and sarcasm.
His fans in the audience debated that Faraz surpassed almost all the other poets in poetry oration. Sitting amid a diversified audience comprising all ages, Muhammad Azam Sami told The Express Tribune that Faraz was the best poet in the mushaira.
Dr Ikramul Haq’s humorous poetry about the love of a husband for his wife, made the listeners, mostly married women, burst into fits of laughter. “He [Haq] is depicting the true picture of husbands,” said Fehmida, a poetry lover sitting in the audience. The people equally enjoyed his poem in Punjabi called, ‘Dieting.’
Among other poets, Professor Inayat Ali Khan managed to make it to the mushaira, despite his illness. Khan moved the audience with a few verses related to the Pakistan Movement and with his humorous poetry. Through his intense verses that were orated with equal emotion, Khan also criticised the Water and Power Development Authority on the service it provides.
Qaiser Wajdi’s poetry reading, in his slurred voice, full of vivid metaphors and powerful images, was also successful in rounding several nods of approval from the audience.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Sakinan-e-Shehr-e-Quaid convener, Mehmood Ahmed Khan, said that the International Urdu Mushaira was started by a few students of Karachi University in 1989. It has now become a trend.
Referring to the Indian poets who could not make it the mushaira, the convener said that visas were issued to most of them, but they could not travel due to the prevailing tension between the two countries. “However, poets from all four provinces of Pakistan are here to enthral the people of Karachi,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 12th, 2015.
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