By Firoz Bakht Ahmed
IANS
New Delhi : Four Syrian writers are here to give an impetus to cultural and literary exchanges between India and the Arab countries.
At an event hosted by the Sahitya Akademi, India's national academy of letters and a forum for the promotion of literary values, litterateurs and academics from the two countries exchanged notes.
Sahitya Akademi president Gopi Chand Narang introduced Syrian writers Abdul Kader Al-Hosni, Nezar Brik Hnidi, Mahmoud Ribdaoui and Musa Ibrahim Ali to the gathering that included English poet Keki N. Daruwala, Dogri and Hindi writer Padma Sachdev and Oriya awardee Pratibha Ray. Arabic academicians like Zubair Farooqi from Jamia Millia Islamia, Noman Khan, Faizullah Farooqi, Shafiq Ahmed Khan Nadvi and Suleman Ashraf also attended.
According to Narang, Arab writers and poets are known for their values, fondness for their own culture and respect for others' traditions.
Addressing the gathering, A. Krishna Murthy, Sahitya Akademi secretary, said the main objective of the Akademi was to meet the challenges posed by a multilingual society. The institution ceaselessly endeavours to develop a serious literary culture through the publication of journals, monographs, individual creative works of every genre, anthologies, encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, Who's Who and histories of literature.
The delegation from Damascus basically read their work from poetry and fiction. One could find from the English translation by Prof Zubair Farooqi their angst against the horrors of the ever-lingering war and attack by Zionist forces.
Abdul Kader Al-Hosni, the leader of the delegation and editor of Asoboo Al-Adabi newspaper, said Arab writers had excelled in the depiction of the suffering of the masses. They had always raised their voice against injustice.
When Hosni read his poetry, it appeared that he had filled the immense gap left after the death of renowned Syrian writer and poet Nizar Kabbani.
Hosni remains a powerful psychological outlet for millions express their misery and pain through his writings and verses. Those expressions have been a necessity of life to many Arabs, from Morocco to the Gulf.
Mahmoud Al-Ribdaoui, writer of nine books in Arabic, praised the efforts of poet litterateur cum diplomat Gyaneshwar Mulay, the Indian ambassador to Syria, in helping to organise Indo-Syrian cultural exchanges.
Mahmoud is well known for his literature of resistance in the Arab world. His writings in newspapers portray the psychotic and phobic existence of his people on account of the constant threats of air attacks by Israel.
Ambassador Mulay also read a moving poem on Damascus from his Hindi book, "Syria – Mantramugdh Karne Wala Ek Bahurangi Chitra" on the kind of historical charm and present day magnificence of the Syrian capital.
While he also recited a poem from the same collection's English translations, his wife Sadhana Shankar cast a spotlight on Syrian women, who excelled in every walk of life.
Perhaps some of the best world literature came from the situation in turmoil, said Arabic poet Nezar Brik Hnidi, an Arab Writers Union award winner and author of 11 books. Hnidi's works have been translated into many world languages, including French, English, German, Urdu and Romanian.
As he read a poem from "The Gate, the Wind and the Window of My Lover", it became proved that Nezar is a poet of great simplicity – direct, spontaneous, musical, using the language of everyday life.
He also read verses from "The Fire of the Dewdrop", addressing the crises facing the people, the realities of high unemployment, the challenge of earning enough to bring home bread and rice to one's family, the interrogations and investigations made by the police and secret service against innocent citizens, the series of dictators and their political mafias in the years since independence.
The last of the Syrian writers, Musa Ibrahim, spoke about the musical tradition in Arab world, showering his praises on Umm-e-Kulsum, the symbol of Arab song and music. He said there were a lot of good singers – both men and women – in the Arab world who had made a mark but no one could equal Umm-e-Kulsum.
Zubair Farooqi, who also acted as interpreter, stated that the need of the hour is that popular literature of India and the Arab world be translated so people of both the areas understand each other's cultures.
Dogri writer Padma Sachdev recalled her childhood when she listened to Sringar Radio and heard a melodious language. She never understood it, but it felt that someone had applied balm to her wounds and calmed her spiritually. She was later told that it was the recitation of the Holy Quran by Qari Abdul Basith from the Srinagar radio station. All the Syrian writers were very pleased to listen that.