By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net,
Lucknow: If you thought that Lucknow youths were only attracted towards fast numbers, you are grossly mistaken. The Monday night at the main pandal of the Lucknow Mahotsav showed that the city of nawabs still preserves its culture. True to Lucknawi culture, there was a grand evening of qawwali and mushaira.
Going by the saying that qawwali and shayri are inseparable, the organizers too roped in famous qawwal Ram Shanker and a galaxy of poets. With youths in good numbers, Ram Shanker struck an instant rapport with his famous qawwali – Yaro Sab Dua Karo. The number received good round of applause with youths dancing to the number depicting that good music is always respected and enjoyed. Ram Shanker, the famous qawwali singer from Bollywood also did not let the organizers down as he dished out hit numbers.
“Every qawwali is a masterpiece by a poet and also has a message, so as you enjoy it think about it also,” said Ram Shanker. Truly his number—Chadhta Suraj dheerey dheerey dhal jayega.. justified his piece of advice. For the ones with a soft heart, his number—Pyar Ho Na Jaye, Ishq ki zanjeero mei giraftar ho na jaye was enough to set their feet tapping.
As the audience could get over from the hangover, a mehfil of eminent poets was done in the mushaira organized by Fakhruddin Memorial Committee at the main pandal. The main attraction was female poet, Shabeena Adeeb from Kanpur. Her verse Lautkar nahi aata kabr sey koi lekin,, pyar karne waley ko intezar rehta hai was well received by the audience. Another female poet Ana Dehelvi infused a patriotic fervor among the crowd. Mulk sey apney itni mohabbat hai ana,, main tirangey key liye jaan bhi de sakti hoon. Another poetess, Tarannum Kanpuri recited-Kisi key dil pey bhi inka asar nahi dekha, wafa key lafz hai sab mere azmaye hue. Rana Tabassum from Mumbai recited-Dost banker jo sath rahta ho, aisey dushman ko kaun smajheyga.
As the mood turned somber, poet Sundar Malegaoni brought peals of laughter. Ishq tou behisab kar dala, khud ko basi kabab kar dala, gher kar mujhko merey salon nei, agla pichla hisab kar dala. Young poet Saif Babar gave a meaningful couplet-Meri fitrat sey zamaney ko adawat hai bahut, meri fitrat sey magar sach ki hifazat hai bahut. Taking a dig at the communal hatred eminent poet, Majid Deobandi recited—Usko jine ka haq nahi kuch bhi, jo yahan aman sey nahi rahta, tumko takleef deke main khush hoon, mera mazhab tou yeh nahi kehta. However, lines of young poet Raees left a deafening silence among the crowd – keemat tou khoob badh gayi shahro mei dhan ki,, lekin vida na ho saki beti kisan ki. The mushaira which continued late in the night was presided over by UP cabinet minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui while several senior officials were also present on the occasion.