Third International Punjabi Mushaira/Kavi Darbar in Dallas

 

Roonamaee (unveiling) of Gurmukhi edition of Dr. Amanullah Khan’s Punjabi poetry book “Mukar Gayian nain Shawaan.” L to R: Nirma Nilvi, Surjit Patar and Dr. Amanullah Khan	Participants in the mushaira	A section of the audience

Dallas, Texas: The Aalami Punjabi Ikatth (API) held its third International Punjabi Mushaira/Kavi Darbar in Dallas on July 21, 2007. The hall was filled to capacity and a very attentive and appreciative audience stayed late into the night. Dr. Asif Qadeer presided over the proceedings while Younus Ijaz and Amarjit Dhillon acted as comperes.
The list of poets included: Dr. Sughra Sadaf (Pakistan), Surjit Patar (India), Karamat Gardezi (Virginia), Dr. Amanullah Khan (Dallas), Iftikhar Nasim (Chicago), Younus Ijaz (Dallas), Shashi Samundra (California), Jasvir Kaur (Dallas), Nadir Durani (Dallas), Tariq Hashmi (Dallas), Amarjit Dhillon (Dallas), Povinder Kaur (Dallas), Rabinder Singh (Dallas), and Afzal Firdous (Houston).
The Bulleh Shah Award for outstanding contribution to Punjabi literature and/or Punjabi causes was awarded to Surjit Patar, a renowned Punjabi poet from Ludhiana. This award was presented to him by Dr. Amanullah Khan. Gurmukhi edition of Dr. Amanullah Khan’s poetry book “Mukar GaiyaaN NaiN ShawaaN” was also unveiled by Surjit Patar at the function.
“Aalami Punjabi Ikatth was established to promote unity amongst the Punjabi organizations and to strive for creating awareness of the richness of Punjabi language, its literary treasures and Sufi thought of love, peace, harmony and devotion,” explained Dr. Amanullah Khan, president of API. He further stated that “the organization will make efforts to help preserve the Punjabi cultural heritage for future generations.”
He invited all like-minded organizations to join hands for this cause. The Punjabi Cultural Association of North Texas (PCANT) jointly sponsored the Kavi Darbar.

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