Indian culture shines on Dubai poetry night

Around 1,500 visitors and residents gathered in an evening of poetry at the recent Kavi Sammelan and Mushaira Dubai, held as part of the Republic Day celebrations.

Messages of love, peace and harmony echoed at the Sheikh Rashid auditorium of the Indian High School in Dubai during the 17^th edition of the annual event.

The popular poetry night that has been part of the Dubai Shopping Festival calendar since 2003 was organised by its founder Syed Salahuddin.

"After India got its independence, the country's first Prime Minister Pndit Jawaher Lal Nehru had announced that on the occasion of the Indian Republic Day, Delhi's famous Lal Qila fort will host a Mushaira and Kavi Sammelan on two consecutive days to show the importance of the Urdu and Hindi (national language of India).

"Since then, such functions have been happening around the globe at different Indian embassies and consulates. This, however, is the only function that happens outside the consulate or embassy but sees a strong presence of officials," Salahuddin said.

By bringing together diverse poets, he said his concept was to show the world the composite culture of India.

"The beauty of our culture is supported by the intellectuals, writers, poets of India who have mastered the art of poetry in various forms and who want to spread the message of universal brotherhood, love and peace across the globe," he added.

The chief guest for this year was Indian Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri.

The ambassador praised Salahuddin's devotion in celebrating the Indian Republic Day year after year, and acknowledged how well the public appreciated the evening.

Under the theme 'Paigam-e-Muhabbat' (Message of Love), the annual literary gathering, saw a mix of 14 top Urdu and Hindi poets from India - along with a few guest poets from Pakistan and the UAE - recite lyrical couplets on the theme of love, unite and harmony.

Some of the popular poets included Dr Uday Pratap Singh, Wasim Barelvi, Dr Hari Om, Dr Nawaz Deobandi, Dr Kalim Qaiser, Shabana Shabnam, Pawan Agree, Gauri Mishra, Sharaf Nanparvi, Shahryar Jalalpuri and Shams Allahabadi.

Emirati poet Dr Zubair Farooq and Afzal Khan from Pakistan also recited their poetry and received a warm welcome from the crowd.

The event was presided over by Dr Uday Pratap Singh, former member of the parliament, Rajya Sabha, and Lok Sabha, and was conducted by Dr Kalim Qaiser in a traditional manner.

Suri, along with other sponsors, released a 175-page trilingual souvenir that depicted the Lal Qila with other prominent UAE landmarks on its cover page.

"It was designed to have the value of a collectors' item, which will also include the latest pieces of the participating poets," added Salahuddin.

saman@khaleejtimes.com