A Glittering Awards Night
A Pakistan Link Report
Pictures by YKKB

Pictures above: Glimpses of the Urdu Writers Society's Second Awards Night and Mushaira 2008

The Urdu Writers Society’s Second Awards Night and Mushaira 2008 at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel on March 8, 2008 proved to be a truly entrancing event. The appreciative audience sat spellbound and burst into spontaneous, thunderous cheers as Syed Mohammad Hanif Akhgar Maleehabadi, recipient of the Brigadier Syed Mohammad Ali Tabatabai Raz Award, presented his kalam. Fittingly, he received a standing ovation from the appreciative audience. Akhgar Sahib richly deserved the award.
Mr Anwar Khwaja, a well-known writer, won the Haji Mohammad Award. Mr Khwaja has written several books and has won all-round acclaim for his literary attainments.
Asifa Nishat, who has also made her mark on the literary scene with her poetry, won the Zaffar Ali Mansuri Award. As she received the prize, the emcee of the evening Masroor Javed paid her a well-deserved compliment: “Shumali America ki shaairat Pakistan maen rehnae wali shaairat sae accha kalam pesh kar rahi haen.”
Papers were presented on the literary work of the three outstanding literati. Said Urdu Writers Society President Irfan Murtaza, “Inn teen afrad par ham jitna fakhr karsakaen kam hae.” True.
Quite a few speakers at the award ceremony emphasized the importance of Urdu in the life of the Pakistani-American community. Learning and speaking the language, according to Asif Syed, Urdu Writers Society’s Co-founder, was a must given the rising domestic problems.  For averting a social disaster and safeguarding our values, patronage of Urdu is absolutely imperative. It is in this context that the Urdu Writers Society’s efforts to organize Urdu courses for Pakistanis and non-Pakistanis attain special importance. Masroor Javed duly complimented the Society. Turning to Irfan Murtaza and Komal Taj who run the course, he remarked, “Urdu ki classes ka ijraa karkae aap nae New York ko bohat peechae chordia.”
The awards ceremony truly proved to be a memorable one and the sponsors as well as members of the Urdu Writers Society deserve to be commended for organizing a stimulating  intellectual feast so successfully and on such a grand scale. Ungrudgingly, the families sponsoring the awards have earned the gratitude of the community.

 

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