KARACHI, March 21: Like last year, and more than a dozen before it, many renowned poets of Urdu have begun arriving here from around the world to take part in a mushaira being held on Wednesday. And thousands of Karachiites are expected to attend the literary event just as they have been doing for more than a decade and a half. Prominent among the poets who are expected from India are Bekal Utsaahi, Waseem Barelvi, Munawwar Rana, Javed Akhtar, Saghar Khyami, Dr Manzar Hanafi, Muzaffar Rizmi and Popular Meerthi.
The well-known Pakistani poets, who will be joining them, include Raghib Muradabadi, Jamiluddin Aali, Dr Peerzada Qasim, Prof Inayat Ali Khan and Kishwar Naheed. Some prominent poets will also be coming over from the United States and other countries, taking the total number of poets participating in the event well over 40.
The large number of poets means that the mushaira – which will start at 10pm – will not end before dawn on Thursday. Dr Ishratul Ibad, the Governor of Sindh, will preside over the event. The event – to be held at the National Stadium – will be the 16th in the series of aalmi mushairas that are organized annually by the Saakinan-i-Shehr-i-Quaid, and which coincide with the Pakistan Day celebrations.
Over the last 17 years, the mushaira has been organized every year without fail, barring just two when it had to be postponed, the convener of the event told Dawn on Tuesday. “The first time we had to postpone the mushaira was in the mid 90’s, when a terrible bomb blast ripped through a hotel building in Karachi,” said Azhar Abbas Hashmi. “The second time when we had to alter our plans was when heavy rain lashed our city. “As you know, the mushaira is held in the open because thousands attend it. We simply cannot hold it inside a hotel or auditorium. So, we had no option other than to postpone the event after the weather turned against us.” Mr Hashmi pointed out that he and his colleagues had started organizing the mushaira in the late 80s and early 90s, when Karachi was passing through a crisis.
The law and order situation then was precarious most of the time and people generally went home early. Its streets often wore a deserted look by 11pm. “But more than a decade on, look how we have brought about a positive change in society. Our mushaira is not an isolated event now. Rather, every year it opens a series of literary events in the city in which international poets invited by us take part.” He said most poets invited by the Saakinan-i-Shehr-i-Quaid this year will remain in Karachi for at least a fortnight. And they will participate in at least one literary event each day as long as they stay here.
A number of press releases issued by the organizers of various events to be held in the next two weeks gave credence to what Mr Hashmi had said. A summarized schedule of mushairas, formulated in the light of press releases received by Dawn, is as follows: March 22, National Stadium; March 23, PECHS Community Centre; March 24, Karachi Club; March 25, Annu Bhai Park; March 26, Karachi Gymkhana; March 27, Landhi-Korangi towns; March 28, Karachi Press Club; March 29, City District Government Karachi; March 30, Hyderabad; March 31, Arts Council; and April 2, Pakistan Steel Mills.
