KARACHI: The literary committee of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) held a mushaira on Tuesday evening in which members of the news media industry took part. It was presided over by senior journalist and poet Rashid Noor.

Since it was a working day, the audience did not turn up in a big number but the poets in their distinct styles and having the innate ability to catch the attention of the audience with startling couplets and verses, kept the event a lively and entertaining one.

The senior versifiers were requested to place themselves on stage while the younger ones sat next to the members of the audience. A.H Khanzada moderated the event. For the first half of the event he invited the relatively younger poets to present their material, which they did, and most of them wisely did not read more than one piece. They were Abdul Rehman Momin, Hidayat Sair, Shabbir Nazish, Imran Shamshad Narmi, Wajih Sani, Seeman Naveed (who was along with Khanzada instrumental in putting together the event), among others.

The latter half of the programme focused on senior verse-wielders. Some very interesting and high quality poems were presented before literature buffs — and they were very well received. Syed Kashif Raza enthralled everyone with his ash’aar, one of which was:

Neem wa thay terey lab aur mujhe aisa laga
Jaisey bosey ki nikal aai ho gunjaish si

[Your lips were half open, I felt
As if an opportunity for a kiss had come about]

Khursheed Alam recited a ghazal whose opening two lines were:

Hain ahl-i-muhabbat bhi, maana ke buhat kum hain
Jaisey ke kabhi tum thay, jaisey ke abhi humhain

[There still exist those who love, though their number is small –
The way you used to be, like the way I am]

Nasira Zuberi was the only woman poet of the mushaira. She read a few ghazals. An example from her poetry:

Her aik mauj ko aadha khareed baithey hain
Hum ik bata hua darya khareed baithey hain

[I have half-bought every wave
I own part of a divided river]

Khalilullah Farooqi also entertained the listeners. The following is his couplet:

Us ki aankhein bataon kaisi hain
Jheel Saiful Malook jaisi hain

[What shall I tell you her eyes look like…
They look like Lake Saiful Malook]

Khalid Moin recited ghazals that included those which his admirers asked him to. A sample of his effort:

Yeh mukhbiron ne bataya hai yaar-i-khaas merey
Hasad ke maarey kisi aur se miley huay hain

[Informers have told me that my best friends
Burning with envy, actually side with someone else]

Jawaid Saba has proven credentials. He always has poetry lovers listen to him with unwavering attention. One of his verses:

Jab bhi miltey hain mera naam-o-nasab poochtey hain
Shehr ke loag nahin shehr mein aaey huay loag

[Whenever they run into me, they ask me where I belong
These (new) comers are not citizens of the city]

Finally, Rashid Noor came to the microphone. The following are the two lines that he read during his recital:

Jo khwab chashm ko kertey thay neend se baidaar
Wo khwaab hi meri taabeer ka sawal baney

[The dreams that used to make my eyes open
The same dreams pose a question to their interpretation]

Fazil Jamili, Akhtar Saeedi, Ajmal Siraj, Hanif Abid, Mirza Tanvir Baig and Usman Jamaie also presented their kalaam.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2022