BY : MEHREEN ILAHI.
Karachi : AS THE EVENING BEGAN THE SOFT SAWAN BREEZE BROUGHT A WHIFF OF ROSE PETALS SCENT IN THE AIR GIVING A SWEET WELCOMING SCENT TO THE GUESTS COMING IN, ON AUGUST 2ND 2025. SOME POETS HAD ALREADY GATHERED AND THE ARRIVAL OF CHIEF GUEST AND PRESIDENT OF MUSHAIRA MR. SAHR ANSARI WAS AWAITED. DR. ALIYA IMAM WAS THE CHIEF GUEST AN INTELLECTUAL AND A TREASURE TROVE OF KNOWLEDGE ON HISTORY , POETRY AND POLITICS.MR. KHALID IRFAN THE CANADIAN POET OF INTERNATIONAL REPUTE AND FAMOUS FOR HIS VERY FUNNY VERSES ALSO WALKED IN. NAUSHABA AND ZAFAR GUESTS OF MAJMUA WALKED IN WITH DR. ALIYA IMAM.
MEHREEN ILAHI THE OWNER OF MAJMUA SEEMED BUSY GREETING GUESTS AND CHECKING SEATING ARRANGEMENTS. SHE LOOKED A PICTURE OF PURE LUCKNOWI ELEGANCE IN HER BLOCK PRINTED BLACK GHARARA, VERY APT FOR THE EVENT. THE EVENING LOOKED PROMISING AND FULL OF POTENTIAL AS THE POETS TOOK THEIR SEATS AND IN AN ANIMATED MANNER INTERACTED WITH EACHOTHER, THEIR FACES GLOWING. MEHREEN ILAHI AS MUNTAZIM OF THE EVENING STARTED THE INTRO TO THE EVENING WECOMING THE ESTEEMED POETS AND HER GUESTS. SHE ACKNOWLEDGED THE PRESENCE OF THE CHIEF GUEST AND SADR E MUSHAIRA , WHO WERE ASKED TO SAY A FEW WORDS. THE MIC WAS THEN GIVEN ISHRAT HABIBA WHO WAS HANDLING THE NIZAMAT OF THE POETRY RECITAL. SHE REQUESTED EACH POET TO RAD A GHAZAL EACH SO THAT ALL THE 10 POETS AND AT THE END SADR E MUSHAIRA CAN BE COVERED.MR. GOHAR AMROHI STARTED HIS RENDITION WITH VERY SELECTED AND MEANINGFUL WORDS AND STYLE OF DELIVERY. HE WAS FOLLOWED BY SALMAN RIYAZ AND DURRE SAMIN. THEIR GHAZALS WERE GETTING THE AUDIENCE TRANSPORTED INTO ANOTHER WORLD. THE EVENT WAS COLLABORATED BY HADIZ INTERNATIONAL AND WAS SUPPORTED BY THEM. SHAHIDA AROOJ A PARTICIPATING POET IN THIS EVENT ALSO TOOK KEEN INTEREST IN HELPING TO ORGANISE IT. ALL CULTURAL ACTIVITIES NEED SUPPORT THESE DAYS AND MAJMUA THE ART GALLERY HAS SUPPORTED AND INTRODUCED A NUMBER OF ARTISTS , MUSICIANS, POETS IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.
FARRUKH IZHAR RENDITION WAS BOLD AND RAZOR SHARP. HIS SELECTION OF WORDS WAS DEPICTING SHEER BRUTALITY OF LIFE FOR THE COMMON MAN . HE GOT MANNY LOUD APPLAUDS AS THE AUDIENCE FOUND HIM TO BE QUITE HARD HITTING. THESE ARE ALL EMERGING POETS THAT GET TO READ THEIR GHAZALS FIRST. MR. WAJIH A FAMOUS MAN AS A NEWSCASTER ON GEO ALSO READ HIS VERY ROMANTIC AND INQILABI POEMS AND GOT A LOT OF WAH WAHS AND BOHAT KHOOB FROM THE AUDIENCE.
THE WOMEN POETS TOOK CENTER STAGE AS THEY WERE QUITE A FEW. SALMA RAZA SALMA, SAMIA NAZ , SHAHIDA AROOJ GAVE THE AUDIENCE LOTS TO APPRECIATE AND ENJOYIN THE ROMANTIC VERSES. DR. MANA WAS QUITE OUTSTANDING IN HER STYLE OF DELIVERY AND HER CHOICE OF WORDS AND PORED HER HEART OUT.. HER GHAZAL WAS ON RELATIONSHIPS AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND HOW GENDER ROLES IF REVERSED BRINGS CHANGE IN MENS TEMPERAMENT. SABIN YOUSUF ALSO HAD A WONDERFUL MESSAGE IN HER POEM. BY THE TIME IT CAME TO THE VERY SENIOR POETS , KHALID IRFAN THAT MADE PEOPLE LAUGH AS HIS SHAIRI WAS MAZIHA!JAVED SABA ANOTHER SENIOR POET READ HIS WONDERFUL POEM AND WAS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. THE EVENING HAD GATHERED GREAT MOMENTUM AND THERE WAS MAGIC IN THE AIR AS THE AUDIENCE SEEMED TOTALLY IMMERSED IN POETRY. TO TOP IT ALL ALIYA IMAM SANG A POORBI THUMRI AND GOT THE AUDIENCE AS WELL AS THE POETS RAVING! SAHR ANSARI WHO HAD READ HIS BEAUTIFUL POEMS EARLIER SEEMED VERY ENTHRALLED BY DR. ALIYA IMAMS RENDITION. HER INDIVIDUALITY AND FIERCE INDEPENDENCE IN HOW SHE COMMANDED THE POETS WAS SOMETHING UNIQUE. EVEN IN HER MID 90S SHE COULD ANY OTHER INTELLECTUAL A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY.
FINALLY DRAWING CLOSE TO THE END OF THE PROGRAM ISHRAT HABIBA THANKED ALL THE POETS AND THE AUDIENCE, AND ANNOUNCED A SUMPTUOUS DINNER ASKING EVERYONE TO BE AROUND FOR A GROUP PHOTOGRAPH. EVEN AT 10:30 THE EVENING COULD HAVE CONTINUED AS EVERYONE THERE SEEMED HAPPY AND EXHILARATED WITH THE WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE WHICH WILL BE REMEMBERED LONG AFTER IT IS OVER.MEHREEN ILAHI THANKED HADIZ INTERNATIONAL ONCE AGAIN AND ALL THE POETS AND GUESTS.
