KARACHI, Aug 11: People of Karachi flocked to the KMC Sports Complex in their thousands on Saturday night to attend the 12th Aalmi Mushaira.
The mushaira, organized by the Sakinan-i-Shaher-i-Quaid Karachi, saw poets from different cities of Pakistan and other countries, including India, recite their poetry amid applause and, at times, amid jeers and catcalls.
The Mushaira, which the Sakinaan-i-Shaher-i-Quaid-i-Karachi has been organizing since 1989, was earlier scheduled to be held on May 11. It was postponed after the May 8 bomb blast in the city.
While there was tight security at the venue, law-enforcement personnel kept a low profile. Except for frisking at the gate, a visitor did not have to go through any problems.
Azhar Abbas Hashmi of the Sakinan-i-Shaher-i-Quaid read out the address of welcome. He said: “One of the suggestions put forward by this organization is that 10,000 people in the city contribute Rs5,000 each so that an amount of Rs50 million could be invested properly. With the annual return on the investment — Rs6 million or thereabouts — health insurance policies would be taken out for intellectuals, loans would be issued and at least 12 functions would be organized.”
The Federal Minister of Information, Nisar Memon, announced a donation of Rs100,000 to the Sakinan-i-Shaher-i-Quaid Karachi from his ministry. He personally donated Rs5,000.
There were arrangements for closed circuit TV at the venue. Two huge television screens were installed to enable the audience to have a better view of the poets. The area of the backdrop of the stage, containing pictures of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and representative buildings of the city, was 60 by 10 square feet.
While the crowd generally jeered and cheered, silence descended upon the KMC Sports Complex when senior poet Tabish Dehlavi recited his poetry. His turn came early because he wanted to leave. Some of his poems were in the zameen of Khwaja Meer Dard.
The mushaira, which got off to a good start around 11pm, lost steam in the early hours when one poet after another recited their insipid poetry and were duly and mercilessly heckled by the crowd.
It was Enayat Ali Khan who pulled the crowd back to the mushaira. His apparently light-hearted poems, containing serious and thought-provoking ideas, sent the crowd into raptures.
Nisar Memon, who sat through the entire proceedings, was both amused and perturbed as Enayat Ali Khan criticized, under the cover of humour poetry, the government’s policies vis-a-vis the superpower.
The standard of compering was low, as usual. All the comperes spoke unnecessarily and their jarring utterances drowned the poets’ voice. The last compere was exceptionally bad who sat tight-lipped as Enayat Ali Khan recited his well-received lines. He, however, sprang into action as Jon Elia came to recite his poetry. All the comperes showed a propensity for favouritism.
Jon Elia received big applause from the audience. His mannerism, his style of reciting poetry and his evocative romantic poetry enthralled the audience.
Gulzar Dehlavi, from India, observed that first the people of India had to wage a war of independence against the British. “Afterwards we had to fight another battle for the independence (that is, its rightful place) of Urdu.”
The audience were reminded of Deputy Nazir Ahmed’s partiality to idioms when Gulzar aptly used the expression: Pathan aaya aur heeng (asafoetida) baich gya. His poetry also showed his command over the Urdu language.
Farzana Sahab, Hasan Javed, Sohail Saqi, Qamar Jamali Amrohvi, Zakia Ghazal, Farooq Abidi, Jamiluddin Aali, Nazar Amrohvi, Raghib Muradabadi, Amirul Islam, Aqueel Danish, Raees Alvi, Sarfaraz Shahid, Naseem Sahar, Dr Ahmed Safi, Khalish Muzaffar, Tariq Hashmi, Sardar Soz, Munir Niazi, Iftikhar Arif and others recited their poetry at the mushaira.