KARACHI: An ideal mushaira should have only poets of high merit and they shouldn’t be more than 10 in number. This happened on Saturday night at a poetry recital where a discerning audience got to listen to some high quality contemporary Urdu ghazals and nazms.

Prof Sahar Ansari was the last poet to present his kalaam. He recited a few ghazals. This verse from one of them was very well received:

Dekhna hai ke is jahan ko Sahar
Aakhri baar kon dekhta hai
[It remains to be seen Sahar
Who will be the last man to see this world]
Kishwar Naheed began by reading a nazm with reference to the 70 years of Pakistan’s inception and the current socio-political situation. A verse from a ghazal was:

Apni be chehragi chhupane ko
Aaeney ko idhar udhar rakha
[To hide my facelessness
I kept moving the mirror]
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Iftikhar Arif proved to be the most popular poet of the event. After finishing his stint on stage, he was requested to take centre stage again and present more of his couplets and verses. Two of them:

Muhafiz-i-ravish-raftagan koi nahin hai
Jahan ka main hun mera ab wahan koi nahin hai
[There is no custodian of the past traditions
The place I come from has none of my people]
Kahani aap uljhi hai ya uljhai gai hai
Yeh uqda tab khuley ga jab tamasha khatm ho ga
[Who has made the tale a mystery? Or was it already one?
This will come to light once the game is over]
Amjad Islam Amjad recited his famous nazms as well as new ghazals. Two lines from his first ghazal was: Aik dhoka sa hai nigahon ka
Aks kab aaenon mein hotay hain
[It’s all an illusion, a smokescreen
Mirrors don’t contain images]
Anwar Shaoor entertained the audience with his typical wit-laden poetry:
Kia karein hum jhoot ke aadi nahin
Aur sach kahne ki aazadi nahin
[I don’t lie, I never lie
Problem is: there’s no freedom of expression]
Naseer Turabi, who seldom takes part in big mushairas, read out a few top-notch ghazals, including the one which was used as the soundtrack for the TV play Hamsafar. But his other kalaam was received with the same enthusiasm. One of his couplets was:

Shehr mein kis se sukhan rakhyey, kidhar ko chalyey
Itni tanhai to ghar mein bhi hai, ghar ko chalyey
[Who to talk with in this city, where to go?
Home has this kind of solitude, let’s go there]
Sabir Zafar was the first poet of the mushaira. The following are two of his well-appreciated lines:

Yeh terey hath buhat narm bhi hain garm bhi
Inhein milaya na ker badhavas logon se
[Your hands are dainty and warm
Don’t shake them with unhinged people]
Shakil Jazib conducted the programme. One of his verses:
Tu na dekhe to ajab habs mein dum ghut’ta hai
Terey dekhey se main barsaat mein aa jata hun
[I feel suffocated when you don’t look at me
When you look at me, I feel soaked in rain]
Renowned broadcaster Raza Ali Abidi presided over the event held at Civilzations School. He lauded the quality of poetry recited at the mushaira.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2017