Ashfaq Hussain’s ghazal also captivated the audience:

Soorat-e-haal badal-jaa-tee hai ek lamhe meiN
Aadmi apne iradouN meiN atal kese ho

Sochte kuchh heiN, amal kuchh hai, nateeja kuchh hai
Aisee soorat meiN koi mas’ala hal kaise ho

Mere mehboob ka Urdu se hai, rishta kam, kam
MeiN nu aandi nai Panjabi te gal kaise ho

The six-hour long Mushaira ended with a light and humorous note when Zamin Jaafri amused the audience with his three hilarious poems – Ijtehad, Molvi Sahib Jannat MeiN & CNN.
It is said that humorous poetry begins in delight and ends in wisdom.  This is true of Zamir Jaafri’s poetry. Zamin Jaafri’s three renditions had a very strong message on some very important issues facing our society.

Zamir Jaafri exposes the disruptive and negative role of the so-called molvis or religious leaders in his two poems namely: Ijtehad and Molvi Sahib Jannat MeiN.

In Ijtihad Zamin Jaafri says:

Kaam tera tha magar kar ke dikhaia ham ne
Fatwa-i kufr chap-o-rast lagaya ham ne

Kufr se lad ke kareiN deen ko ham kyouN barbaad
Sehn-e-masjid me-hi ka- layte heiN aapas me jihaad

In Molvi Sahib Jannat MeiN he says:

Naam pe Allah ke mar waya sab ko subho shaam
Khud naheiN haasil kiya leikin shahadat kaa maqaam

Mujh ko dar hai hoor-o-ghilmaaN sab ko ladwa’yeiN-ge yeh
Aur yaaN bhee zaati nizaam-e-Mustafa laaeN-ge yeh

Zamin Jaafri’s poem CNN is political one and shows that the poet has a deep insight to the mechanism of international politics and economy:

JahaaN JahaaN bhee hai dunya me ma’adni dolat
WahaaN ho tale ya dhaat kee koi soorat

Rahe na dast-e-MusalmaaN me wo kisee soorat
Aur hai unki atmee taqat se bhee hameiN wehshat
 

Hare are some selected verses of other poets that drew wide applause:
Please see pictures of these poets on next page

Eshrat Afrin

Zinda,gee mujh ko sam,bhale-hai ye uska ehsaan
MeiN ise jhail rahee houN ye hunar mera hai

Naam se jis ke-bhee chaltaa-ho gharana laikin
Itna maa’loom hai mujh-ko ke-yeh ghar mera hai

Maqsat Nadeem

Jin baatouN par khoon baha deyte ho tum
Un baatouN par haath milaya ja sakta hai

Kuchh logouN me baa hee aisee hotee hai
Kuchh logouN se dhoka khaya ja sakta hai

Arif Imam

Aaeena aks to karta hai magar
Toot jataa hai tahayyur ki farawani se

Aab-e-girya se wazu karta houN me qabl-e-namaz
Phir mujhe mujh se mila deta hai, sajda mera

Parwaz Jaafri

Aik mo’qa to do safai kaa
Aik dam bad-gumaN naheeN hote

Ya-to bachpan hai yaa budapa hai
Is gali meiN jawaN naheeN hope

Farooq Taraz

Be saro samaan apne qaafle chalte rahai
Um se ziada is safar meiN faasle chalte rahai

Faiyaz Saba

Ab is se baRh ke bhala aur kya jafa kartey
Ham apney dard-e-jigar ki agar dawa kartey

Aey maaN kahaN hey mohabbat bhara tira paikar
Wo lab kahaN heN jo merey liey du'a kartey

Tashie Zaheer

Wohi hai khaak nasheeni wohi safar apnaa
Bana na paaye kabhi ham ghar apnaa

Naseer Humayoun

Fa’reb khurda wehm-o-gumaN heiN ham do no
Tumhe yaqeen mujhe aitabar kar na hai

Ahmad Shehwaar

Masjid me, na mandar me, na girje me, na ghar me
MeiN aur kaheiN, jaaye amaaN dhound raha houN

At the end of about six-hour mushaira, Ahmar Shehwar thanked all the volunteers and financiers who helped in the making of this event successful. He particularly thanked Khalid Rana, Syed Sarwat and  Javed Ellahi for sponsoring the event.

Tale end: American National Poetry Month

Perhaps it is a little known fact for our South Asian readers that like poetry reading in Urdu, it is also an American tradition. Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.              See pictures page 1 of 6 pages