Ajiib Aadmi Tha VO
By Zafar Iqbal, PhD
ajiib aadmī thā vo mohabbaton kā giit tha baġhavaton ka raag tha
kabhī vo sirf phuul thā kabhī vo sirf aag tha ajiib aadmī tha vo
vo aadmī se kahta tha ki aadmī se pyaar kar ujaḌ rahī hai ye zamīn
kuchh is ka ab singhar kar ajiib aadmī tha vo
Javed Akhtar, legendary Urdu poet, lyricist and former Member of Parliament of India recited the above few lines of his poem, paying tribute to Mr Kaifi Azmi. Since the Mushaira honored the birth centenary of the late Kaifi Azmi, the opening event was a brief session in which Ms Ambareen Ambar addressed questions about Kaifi’s life and legacy to Javed Akhtar. Javed Akhtar’s responses were scholarly, informative and entertaining, enlivened with some anecdotes based on his first-hand knowledge of the iconic poet.
The 45th Annual International Mushaira was organized by the Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington DC (AAADC) on Saturday, 16th November 2019 in Rockville Maryland. The AAA-DC is a non-profit organization, and as one of its objectives is to preserve and promote Urdu language in North America, it has been organizing annual Mushaira in the Washington metropolitan area since its inception. Kaifi Azmi participated in its annual Mushaira in 1988, and again in 1992 when the Association organized an event in his honor.
Javed Akhtar, Ambareen H Amber, A. Abdullah, Aalok Shrivastava, Humaira Rahman, Sabiha saba, Parvin Shere, Qaiser Abbas, Razi Raziuddin, and Mohammad Jaweed entertained the audience with their poetry. Dr Tariq Mansoor, Mr & Mrs Sethu Madhavan (Embassy of India), Dr Arathi Krishna (NRI Official), Mr & Mrs Tejbir Kohli (Air India), Ambassador & Mrs Islam Siddiqi, representatives of community organizations in the Metropolitan Area (AIM, GOPIO, NCAIA, UKAA, Hindi Association, etc.), media personnel, and more than 400 people were present in the event. Mrs Zakia Jafri (widow of Mr Ehsan Jafri) came from New Jersey and many others from Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Texas, and Massachusetts traveled for this memorable event.
Dr Abdullah Abdullah, who has over the years polished and mastered the art of piloting these literary gatherings with great dexterity, conducted the Mushaira. His introductions of individual poets showcased a delightful fusion of wit and knowledge.
Mr Afzal Usmani served as the emcee for the evening, while Dr Razi Raziuddin, the current president, welcomed the guests and poets. Professor Tariq Mansoor, vice-chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), was the chief guest and came from Aligarh to attend the festivities. In his brief remarks, he enlightened the audience on the steady progress the University had achieved in various academic fields in recent years.
Tarana team lead by Mr Masood Farshori sang AMU Tarana with great passion and zeal which is a signature of AMU Alumni across the globe.
Sir Syed Day Lecture and Dinner: Every year, the AAA-DC hosts the Sir Syed Day lecture and dinner to honor the historic contributions of the founder of AMU to lifting the morale of Indian Muslims and pushing them to acquire modern, secular education in order to succeed in the new order unfolding at that time. The Association invites a prominent scholar from the realm of academia, journalism or politics to talk about some aspects of Sir Syed’s mission as applicable today. This year, Professor Tariq Mansoor was the invited keynote speaker at the event organized by the Association on 17th November 2019.
Dr Mansoor is an academician, a medical practitioner and has served as the principal, Jawaharlal Medical College and Hospital at AMU, before taking over as the vice-chancellor. Professor Mansoor recounted the current status of various academic programs and laid out his vision of the future. He expressed pleasure at the ranking assigned to AMU by the national and international agencies that placed it among the top tier of national institutions. He revealed that the University had added a new hall of residence for women to encourage their admissions and named it after Sir Syed’s mother, Begum Azizun Nissa. Professor Mansoor was introduced by Mr Suhail Farooqui, a local entrepreneur, and community activist. Mr Mohsin Khan, Secretary AAA-DC, acted as the compere for the evening. The session concluded on a vote of thanks by Dr Frank Islam, a well-recognized philanthropist, and businessman.
The success of these programs involved tireless efforts of numerous volunteers who worked behind the scene, without seeking or expecting any recognition.
Dr Syed Amir and Mr Afzal Usmani contributed to this report. Photographs were courtesy of Dr Rafat Husain and Mr Afzal Usmani
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