KARACHI: The season of mushairas in the city is at its peak. After a successful gathering of poets at a school last week, another mushaira at the Mohatta Palace Museum on Saturday had the audience’s undivided attention.

Iftikhar Arif, who presided over the programme, was as usual asked to read out his couplets and verses for as long as he could. He recited some of his famous ghazals, which were wholeheartedly appreciated by the large crowd. Two of his verses were:

Hamein to apney samandar ki raet kaafi hai
Tu apney chashma-i-befaiz ko sambhal ke rakh
[All we need is the sand of our shores
You keep your oceans of generosity to yourself]
And:
Inhi mein jeetey inhi basteon mein mar rehtay
Ye chahtey thay magar kis ke naam per rehtay
[I could have lived in these towns and valleys
But for whose sake, that’s the question]
Amjad Islam Amjad began his stint on stage by congratulating the organisers for putting up a good show and then read out some of his well known nazms and ghazals. A couplet from a ghazal:

Ab tak na khul saka ke merey ru ba ru hai kon
Kis se mukalima hai, pas-i-guftugu hai kon
[I haven’t yet discovered who’s in front of me
Who am I talking to? Who is behind conversations?]
Anwar Shaoor stuck to his wit-laden poetry, though one thought he could have finished earlier leaving a better impact. The following are his two lines that had a good reception:

Wada to ker lia magar eefa nahin kia
Tum ne hamarey saath yeh achcha nahin kia
[You made a promise to me, didn’t keep it
You have done me no good]
Sabir Zafar presented quite a few ghazals in simple diction but with contextual depth. Here is an example: Jab uss ke saamney Suqraat ka havaala dia
To uss ne barh ke mujhe zahr ka piala dia
[When, talking to him, I referred to Socrates
He handed to me the poisonous hemlock]
Inamul Haq Jawaid entertained the audience with his humorous quatrains. One of the quatrains was about a banker and his beloved:
Ankh jama lab, zarab gaal bata til
Zulf jama qad, zarab chaal bata dil
Car jama kothi aur maal bata bill
Aur Husn jama wasl, dash nil bata nil
[Eyes plus lips, multiplied by cheek upon mole
Hair plus height, multiplied by gait upon heart
Car plus bungalow, and money upon bill
Beauty plus union with beloved, equals nil]
Mir Ahmed Navaid changed the direction of the mushaira to a different realm with his philosophical bent of mind:
Karo khatm jhagra nasha apna apna
Khudi apni apni Khuda apna apna
[Put an end to this debate
Each has his own self, own God]
Dr Fatema Hassan complied with requests that came her way and recited a few ghazals. One of her verses:
Kuch to woh shaam khubsurat thi
Aur kuch uss ne bhi suhani ki
[The evening was beautiful
But his presence made it more pleasant]
Shehzad Nayyar also earned applause from the audience, especially for these two lines:
Chaltey phhirtey isey bandish ka gumaan tak na rahey
Uss ne insaan ko iss darja kushada bandha
[So that he doesn’t feel hampered in his movement
He made man so vast as a being]
The other participating poets were: Mahboob Zafar, Nasir Ali Syed, Rahman Faris and Nasra Zuberi (who also hosted the mushaira).

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2017