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Musical soiree celebrates language of love

Dubai - Over 1,000 people attended the event, that saw renowned poets render their lyrical compositions.

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You may call it the national language of Pakistan, one of the languages used by Indian Muslims, and one of the widest spoken languages of South Asia. But it also has the reputation of being one of the sweetest tongues on the planet. Urdu, the language of love, as they say.
It is a lingua franca that oozes with sophistication, inspires a sense of admiration for the speaker, and charms the listener. But now, the language seems to have been forgotten by the younger generations.
But one Dubai-based non-profit organisation, Bazm-E-Urdu, is making relentless efforts to promote and popularise the use of Urdu among people from the UAE and the subcontinent. One such effort of theirs was a recent Mehfil-e-Urdu poetry session held at the Iranian Club in Oud Metha on Thursday night. The event - that saw renowned poets render their lyrical compositions - was attended by over a 1,000 people.
The star attraction was the famous poet, lyricist and Bollywood scriptwriter Javed Akhtar, as well as Tom Alter, a popular Indian actor of American descent.
Rehan Khan, general secretary of Bazm-e-Urdu, said:

"We work for the cause of Urdu. to get it the deserved position and respect in our communities in and outside the subcontinent. Especially in the Indian context, where people are unaware - and we would like to show them - that what they speak is largely Hindustani, which is primarily a mix of Urdu and Hindi."

Calling Urdu and Hindi sister languages, Khan said:

"There is a beautiful synergy and relation between Urdu and Hindi; they are sister languages. There is no competition between the two - in fact, one enriches the other. Urdu is an indigenous subcontinental language and has no religious affiliation. The only connection is that it flowered in the era where the Mughals were the ruling class in India."

The 'Jadoo' of Akhtar
About 20 minutes into the show and the auditorium was buzzing - left, right and centre (literally) from every side - with the sound of claps, praises, laughter and "once more" screams from the audience. No prizes for guessing, it was the jadoo (magic) of Akhtar's eloquence, his touching rags to riches story, his struggle to success, and excerpts from his soul-stirring compositions such as Woh kamra yaad aata hai ("I miss that room of mine"). Akhtar's recitation brought the poem to life; the audience couldn't seem to get enough of him.
Akhtar was also felicitated with the Josh-e-Urdu award for his contribution to the Urdu language. Bazm-e-Urdu instituted the award in the memory of Josh Malihabadi, a prominent 20^th century poet.
The second highlight of the event was a monologue - enacted by the inimitable Tom Alter - interspersed with some old film songs rendered live by singers Mohammed Vakil and Archita Bhattacharya. These included popular songs written by Ludhianvi, such as Kabhi kabhi, Main pal do pal ka shayar hun and Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya.
This was a tribute to the legendry poet and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, where Alter played the role of Ludhianvi depicting different aspects of the latter's life - his personal life, dilemmas and relationships. This was the first time in the Middle East that a classical mushaira was combined with Hindi film songs along with a monologue.
Urdu needs our attention
Discussing the history of Urdu in Urdu, Khan said:

"The fact remains that Urdu was widely spoken by everyone in North and Central pre-partition India ... Even today, the generation of Punjabis over the age of 70 read and write in Urdu, among them former Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
"Urdu needs our attention, and if we want it to flourish, we have to gift it to the next generation. Bazm-e-Urdu strives to create the opportunity for our children to study Urdu as a subject in their school curriculum."

saman@khaleejtimes.com