Pune: Connoisseurs of Urdu poetry will enthrall audiences at the All-India Mushaira to be held on Saturday as part of the ongoing Pune Festival. A mushaira is a gathering where poets recite their original work aloud, often improvising, often provoking debate, but always listening for that wave of appreciation that comes when words land in the hearts of an audience. Organised by Dr P. A. Inamdar, vice-chancellor of Dr P A Inamdar University, and Abeda Inamdar of Deccan Muslim Institute, the gathering has long been marked by its emphasis on national unity and communal harmony.The roster is long and distinguished, comprising renowned poets from across the country, such as Govind Gulshan, Irshad Anjum, Arif Saifi, Nikhat Amrohvi, Sajjad Jhanjhat, Mahek Kairanavi, Zubair Ali Tabish, Iftikhar Shakeel, Abbas Qamar, and Kaleem Javed, who will take the stage at Ganesh Kala Krida Rangamanch along with Pune’s own Hisamuddin Shola.For Delhi-based poet Abbas Qamar, one of the younger voices whose couplets have found wide circulation online, mushaira is a place where contrasting emotions find room together. “A ghazal is like a bouquet, made of different couplets, each with its own colour and meaning. Every couplet is a poem in itself. I don’t arrange my recitation by theme; it is always a basket of mixed thoughts. Traditionally, a ghazal speaks to the beloved, but in our times poets also speak of the world’s troubles, of private inner dialogues, and so on. I will also recite a couplet that found much appreciation online, about how crying is not always sorrow but can be release, called badhai hai, rohiye (congratulations, go ahead and cry).”Irshad Anjum, a residemt of Malegaon, spoke of the responsibility poets feel towards their audiences. “We value the effort people make to attend, especially during festivals like Ganeshotsav when families gather together. Through our words, we hope to give them something worthy of that time. My verses move across themes of wealth and poverty, yet at their heart, they return to a single thought, that love makes the world go round. With every performance, I hope my words prove useful for the audience, something they can carry home and hold close in their own lives.”Sajjad Jhanjhat, from Rurki in Uttarakhand, said, “Pune is a city where culture is cherished, that’s why performing here always feels special. I am a hasya kavi (comic poet), so it is an opportunity for me to tilt the evening toward laughter. My verses chase out frowns, invite chuckles, and sometimes even coax a burst of laughter from the crowd.”Between verse and laughter, the mushaira will leave audiences with words that linger long after the night is over.Pic credit: Abbas Qamar
