Poets from five States participated in a poetry fest organised in Bidar on Monday night by several literary organisations.

Poets used Shayari couplets, Ghazals and Tarannums to send a message to society. The issues they chose ranged from love, heartbreak, mother’s love, the life of the Prophet Mohammad to the recent carnage in Muzaffarnagar.

B. Narayan Rao, former Zilla Panchayat member, who inaugurated the Mushayira, lamented that Urdu was being limited to Muslims. Urdu is the language that binds India together. “While millions of non-Muslims speak Urdu, millions of Muslims in several States don’t understand the language,” he said.

Tanveer Ahmed Salman, who anchored the Mushayira, said Bidar was the city where the first Urdu book “Masnabi Padamrao Kadamrao” was published in the 14th century. This remains a matter of pride for us, he said.  It has produced poets of global repute like Hazrath Ishqui in the 18th century and modern day favourites like Rashid Ahmed Rashid and Suleiman Khatib.

Deputy Commissioner P.C. Jaffer released six books. He said though the number of people who spoke Urdu was increasing, the number of those who could read and write the language was decreasing. “This is the problem with most Indian languages. We should make concerted efforts to preserve Urdu and other Indian languages,” Mr. Jaffer said.

The books that were released included Bidar Ke Asare Kadima, a note on the monuments of Bidar, by Abdul Samad Bharati; Tazkara Mahamud Gawan and Jahan-e-Kaleem by Nissar Ahmed Kaleem; Nashrah and Saad by Ameeroddin Amir and Ghanti by Hameed Saleem.

Poets from Karnataka, Andhra, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa participated. They included Misbaq Azmi, Akram Nakkash, Saifuddin Saif Ghori, Naveed Abdul Jaleel and Nooruddin Noor.

Poets from Bidar like Mohammad Yousuf Raheem Bidri, Mukhtadir Taj, Nissar Ahmed Kaleem, Basit Khan Sufi, Ameeroddin Amir and Rehana Begum participated.

The surprise package was the singing of two ghazals by Deputy Conservator Forests Sunil Panwar. “A native of Uttarakhand, he learnt to read and write Urdu after being posted to Bidar,” Mr. Bidri, who was a member of the organising committee, said.

• ‘Bidar has produced poets of global repute like Hazrath Ishqui, Rashid Ahmed Rashid and Suleiman Khatib’
• We should make concerted efforts to preserve Urdu and other Indian languages: P.C. Jaffer

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bidar – December 10th, 2013