By TCN News,
“The beauty of Ghalib’s poetry is that your appreciation of his poetry grows more as you listen to it”, said Mr. N. K. Mishra, Minister, Cultural Affairs, Embassy of India. He was addressing the gathering assembled at the 7th Annual Independence Day Mushaira-Kavi Sammelan and release of a recently published book, The Treasure: A Modern Rendition of Ghalib’s Love Poetry by Surinder Deol. He said that his study of Ghalib was limited, but he remembers Ghalib’s one sheyr distinctly: Ghalib ne yeh kah kar toR di tasbih / Gin kar kyon naam loon us ka jo bey-hisab deta hai. He thanked organizers for arranging an event which brought poets and audience of both Urdu and Hindi languages under one roof.
The function was organized by the Aligarh Alumni Association (AAA), Washington, DC and the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), Washington-Metro at the Auditorium of Fairfax County Library in Herndon, Virginia on August 30, 2014.
L-R: Dr. Zafar Iqbal, Hon. N. K. Mishra, Dr. A. Abdullah, Mr. SurinderDeol (author), and Mr. A. Rahman Siddiqui releasing book.
“This book is a welcome addition to the slim corpus of Ghalib in English translation, not only because it has a sure method, but also because it does not sacrifice the essential Ghalib”, said Professor Satyapal Anand presiding the book release ceremony. Dr. Anand appreciated the hard work and dedication of Mr. Deol.
“Surinder Deol’s rendition of Ghalib’s poetry into English is a reflection of his in-depth understanding and sincere love for Ghalib’s multifaceted poetic compositions”, said Dr. A. Abdullah commenting on the book.
L-R: Dr. A. Abdullah, Ms. KiranaNath, Mr. A. Rahman Siddiqui, Hon. N. K. Mishra, Mr. Baqar Zaidi, Dr. Zafar Iqbal, Ms.Vandana Singh, Dr. Renuka Misra, Dr. VishakhaThaker, and Mr. Aziz Qureshi.
Author Surinder Deol described how and why he got interested in bringing Ghalib’s work to English readers. He explained why Ghalib became so popular though there had been so many other great poets in the Subcontinent. One of the reason was that you can find expression of innovative thoughts full of metaphors and similes, and also a wide range of topics and subjects in his poetry, Deol added. He wanted Ghalib’s work be recognized universally.
Greeting the author, poets, dignitaries, and audience, Coordinator of the program and president of GOPIO-Washington, Metro, Dr. Zafar Iqbal said that the goal of this program was to provide a forum where people could get together transcending political, religious, regional, and geographical boundaries promoting Ganga-Jamuni culture of the Subcontinent. He mentioned that in the recent years, a number of authors and poets were recognized through this program. Some of them are: Professor Satyapal Anand, Dr. A. Abdullah, Dr. K. Mohan, Mr. Raj Kumar Raaz, Mr. Anadi Naik, Mrs. Rashmi Sanan, and Mrs. Daler Deol Aashna. “Success of events led to the organization of first bi-lingual (Urdu-Hindi) poetry recitation program at the Embassy of India in 2012 with our help”, he added. He thanked Shri. N. K. Mishra, Minister for Cultural Affairs, Embassy of India for supporting these programs.
Audience
Welcoming the audience on behalf of AAA, association’s president, Dr. Fazal Khan mentioned that the association has been engaged in organizing literary and cultural events, as well as collaborating with other community associations for the last 40 years. This year, the association has planned special events to celebrate 40 years of its service to the community.
Dr. A. Abdullah, the most adored conductor of poetry recitation sessions, mentioned in his introductory remark that the increasing number of participants and audience in these programs is a testimony to the desire of people to share the common heritage. “Hindi and Urdu are twin sisters, who have different attire and are marching forward side by side in India and all over the world,” said Dr. Abdullah.
The mushaira session was presided by Abdurrahman Siddiqui and participating poets included A. Abdullah, Aziz Qureshi, Baqar Zaidi, Daler Deol Aashna, Gulshan Madhur, Kiran Nath, Mohammad Hussain Imam, Rakesh Khandelwal, Razi Raziuddin, Satyapal Anand, Vandana Singh, and Vishakha Thaker. Some samples of the poetry recited at the event are as follows:
Makhkhi ban kar waqt kuredey, Hai khule ghao si zindagi ~~~~ Vandana Singh
Kaisi preet rachai tu ne hum jaise deevane main
Jaise shama jee uThti ho pighal pighal mar jane main ~~~~ Razi Raziuddin
UryaN falak tak husn-e-bahar , Jhuki nazreN bhari palkain
Jhoomar laTke beyshumar, Mahek chali sarhad key paar ~~~~ Daler Deol Aashna
BaharoN key din kabhi mere liyae bhi the
Par aaya na koee qaafla sab muntazir to the ~~~~ Vishakha Thaker
YaadoN ka roop miT gaya hai in boojhi pahelain hoN jaise
Dukh such mera khoob banNTi hoN bachpan ki saheliaN hoN jasie
Jeevan ki jab sham hui to socha ghar bhi ho aaeN
Kitne din yovan ke the kahaN guzaare bhhol gaey ~~~~ Satyapal Anand
Sura gaate gaate main ghanshyam hua jaata hooN
Aur tulsi ke manas meiN rah kar main khd raan hua jaata hooN ~~~~ Rakesh Khandelwal
Apne aaNgan se kaee sooraj huey the roo fishaN
Kiya khabar thi is tapish meiN saebaaN jal jae ga ~~~~ Hussain Imam
Maghrib ki simt jaane ko jaate to ho magar
Aisa na ho ki tumheiN bhi wahanN ki hava kage ~~~~ Aziz Qureshi
Insaan ka vajood hai israr meiN nihaN, Itna samajh meiN aata hai jitna dikhaee de
Is shaher-e-na sipaas meiN sab ajnabi haiN, Apna to koee mere maula dikahee de ~~~~ Baqar Zaidi
Ghazal unko sunane lage hain, Maze zindgani ke aane lage hain
KaTi umr saari to ghar yaad aaya, Chalo hosh aakhir Thikane Lage hain ~~~~ Abdur Rahman Siddiqui
On behalf of AAA, Washington DC and GOPIO-Washington Metro, Dr. Renuka Misra thanked poets, distinguished guest and audience for their time and participation.