The Shankar-Shad Indo-Pak Mushaira is one of the oldest and over time has carved a niche among poets and Urdu poetry aficionados. The Shankar-Shad Mushaira, an initiative of DCM Shriram Industries Limited, has been promoting Urdu mushaira as a genre of literature and the art of oration since 1953
BUSHRA ALVI RAZZACK | Caravan Daily
NEW DELHI — Delhiites are all set to witness a gala celebration of Urdu poetry at the Shankar-Shad Indo-Pak Mushaira this weekend. Into its 51st year, the annual event aims to spread the message of love and peace as well as to strengthen ties through a literary medium. India and her neighbor, Pakistan enjoy a shared heritage of common language, literature and culture and the mushaira seeks to celebrate just that.
This event, considered an integral part of the cultural scene of the capital is organised by Shankar Lall-Murli Dhar Memorial Society and will take place on Saturday, 05 March 2016 at the Sir Shankar Lall Hall, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi.
The Shankar-Shad Indo-Pak Mushaira is one of the oldest and over time has carved a niche among poets and Urdu poetry aficionados. The Shankar-Shad Mushaira, an initiative of DCM Shriram Industries Limited, has been promoting Urdu mushaira as a genre of literature and the art of oration since 1953. This annual get-together is a legacy to commemorate the memory of Sir Shankar Lall (Shankar) and Sh. Murli Dhar (Shad) of the DCM Conglomerate, who were known for their contribution to the social, educational and cultural life of New Delhi and patrons of Urdu poetry.
The Shankar-Shad Indo-Pak Mushaira has enjoyed the patronage of leading lights of the nation like former Prime Ministers Pt. Jawaharlal Lal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri and has assumed the character of a literary institution of great importance in the world of Urdu poetry. Legendary Urdu poets like Josh Malihabadi, Jigar Moradabadi, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Kaifi Azmi, Ali Sardar Jafri and a host of other eminent poets have enriched the mushairas with their compositions over the years.
Showcasing their limitless wealth of talent, the 51st edition of the mushaira will see participation of noted poets like Pirzada Qasim (Karachi), Kishwar Naheed (Islamabad), Amjad Islam Amjad (Lahore), Aziz Nabeel (Doha Qatar), Abdullah Sahib (USA) and Farhat Shahzad (NJ, USA) along with renowned poets from India; Javed Akhtar (Mumbai), Anwar Jalalpuri (Lucknow), Munawwar Rana (Lucknow), Prof. Waseem Barelvi (Bareilly), Dr. Popular Meeruti (Meerut), Iqbal Ashhar (Delhi), Dr. Gauhar Raza (Delhi), Iffat Zarrin (Delhi), Nawaz Deobandi (Deoband), Kunwar Ranjit Chauhan (Delhi), Dr. Malikzada Manzoor Ahmad (Lucknow) and Bekal Utsahi (Balrampur).
Talking about the annual fiesta, Mr. Madhav B. Shriram (Chairman, Shankar Lall-Murli Dhar Memorial Society and Director, DCM Shriram Industries Limited) said, “The rich and vibrant culture of Delhi was dominated by Urdu for 500 years and I believe Urdu is more than just a language; it is a culture in itself. This language and culture in its entirety along with the art of oration needs to be preserved and nurtured against the face of extinction. In recent years, we have seen the revival of the language on a big scale with various literary festivals and events that are being organized and are delighted that we have been able to contribute in keeping a small slice of this tradition alive through our endeavor of the Shankar-Shad Mushaira.”
Entry for the festival is by Invitation on first come first served basis. Interested people can contact the organizing team at; [email protected] or 011-23759362, 23759300 (B.K. Mehta, Subhash Jain, Rohit Lal).
