Tribune News Network
Doha
Bazm-e-Urdu Qatar (BUQ), the oldest Urdu literary organisation in Qatar (established in 1959), recently organised a ‘mushaira’ (poetic symposium) and a launch ceremony for ‘Dastaan dar Dastaan’, a book written by Mohammad Sulaiman Dehlvi in Urdu prose. The event, which was held at Mazza, Old Airport, was attended by a diverse audience of literary enthusiasts and admirers of Urdu literature.
Sulaiman Dehlvi, the author of the book, is a pioneer of grand international ‘mushairas’ in Qatar and has been a resident of Qatar since 1975. He founded the Indo-Qatar Urdu Markaz in 1986, which initiated a series of international poetry symposiums in Qatar in 1980s. He also organised six grand mushairas, which served as a benchmark for others in Qatar and the Gulf region for their quality and administration.
The noted literary personalities of the sub-continent who were invited to Qatar by Sulaiman Dehlvi include Hafeez Meerthi, Kaleem Ajiz, Tabish Dehlvi, Majroh Sultanpuri, Ali Sardar Jafri, Shamsur Rehman Farooqi, Saeed Shuhaidi, Akhtar ul Eman, Jagannath Azad, Malikzada Manzoor, Raza Ali Abidi, Hilal Siharvi, Hemayat Ali Shayer, Waali Aasi, Munnwar Rana, Kaifi Azmi, Intizar Naeem, Ghulam Rabbani Taban, Kanwar Mahinder Singh Bedi Sahar, Gulzar Dehlvi, Tabish Mehdi, Waseem Barelvi and Sudarshan Fakhir among many others.
The programme was presided over by Dr Faisal Hanif, Chairman of Bazm-e-Urdu Qatar and President of Ghazrgah-e-Khayal Forum. The function was graced by a visiting writer and scholar Maulana Dr Sirajuddin Nadvi from India and Waseem Ahmed, a key member of Bazm as chief guests. The author of the book, Sulaiman Dehlvi was the guest of honour. The evening was hosted by the President of Bazm-e-Urdu Qatar, Muhammad Rafique Shad Akolvi.
The programme began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran by Aslam Aziz Nadvi. BUQ’s General Secretary Iftekhar Raghib presented Bazm’s introduction and welcomed the participants and attendees to the programme. In the book launching segment, Waseem Ahmed and Muhammad Rafiq Shad Akolvi presented their essays highlighting the various characteristics of Sulaiman Dehlvi’s work and personality in addition to his literary services.
Dr Faisal Hanif presented an elegant humorous character sketch which immensely delighted the audience. This sketch of Sulaiman Dehlvi is undoubtedly a masterpiece which is also included in the book of the author. Poets Muzaffar Nayab and Iftekhar Raghib presented their poems offering tributes to Sulaiman Dehlvi. Their presentations attracted huge applause from the audiences.
Sulaiman Dehlvi, in addition to organising grand international mushairas, has also made significant contributions to the promotion and preservation of Urdu literature and culture in Qatar. He instituted the annual inter-school Urdu debates in 1988 among students studying Urdu in schools in Qatar, which continued for many years providing a vibrant platform to school students to learn and practice their communication skills. With his efforts, the examination centre of Jamia Urdu Aligarh in Qatar was also established in 1990, which benefited countless people. He established the first Urdu library in Qatar “Indo Qatar Urdu Library” in 1993 which has been preserved by donating books to Qatar National Library in 2019. He started the first international Urdu literary award “Hazrat Amir Khusro” from Qatar in 1994.
“Dastaan dar Dastaan” is a book of essays about the culture and traditions of old Delhi. The book is a collection of Sulaiman Dehlvi’s thoughts and observations on the rich cultural heritage of old Delhi and its people. The book is a tribute to the city that he has called home for many years and to people that he has interacted with and observed.
In the second segment of the programme, i.e. the mushaira, local poets including Shad Akolvi, Iftekhar Raghib, Muzaffar Nayab, Qaiser Masood, Wasi Bastwi, Raza Hussain Raza, Inam Azmi, Bijnath Sharma Minto, and Mubasir Iman entertained the audience with their selected poems. The mushaira was a fitting tribute to Sulaiman Dehlvi’s contributions to Urdu literature and poetry in Qatar.
Chief guests Maulana Dr Sirajuddin Nadvi and Waseem Ahmed, followed by the president of the ceremony Dr Faisal Hanif, and congratulated Sulaiman Dehlvi for his book. In the end, Sulaiman Dehlvi was invited to share his thoughts with the audiences. He narrated some interesting incidents from his book and thanked Bazm-e-Urdu Qatar for organising this programme. Host of the programme, Muhammad Rafiq Shad Akolvi presented vote of thanks.
The launch of “Dastaan Dar Dastaan” by Sulaiman Dehlvi was a memorable event that celebrated the contributions of a literary icon to the promotion and preservation of Urdu literature and culture in Qatar. The event was attended by a diverse audience of literary enthusiasts and admirers of Sulaiman Dehlvi’s work and was a fitting tribute to his contributions to Urdu literature and poetry in Qatar. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in Urdu literature and the culture of old Delhi.
Besides the distinguished guests and poets on the stage, Urdu enthusiasts who attended the programme included Feroz Khan, Shamsuddin Rahimi, Ashraf Siddiqui, Asif Hussain, Afroz Dawar, Hamid Ali, Muhammad Ghiyasuddin, Sajjad Alam, Muhammad Danish, Sohail Ahmed Wafa, Siraj Alam, Sultan Ahmed, Dr Ayaz Ahmed, Dr. Rizwan, Dr Faisal Nazir, Hasan Badr, Irshad, Mukhtar Ahmed and Kazem Faisal Hanif.
