When in dark times, will there be also singing? Yes, there will also be singing. About the dark times,” wrote Bertolt Brecht, highlighting the importance of poetry in public discourse. The well-attended Indo-Pak mushaira, organised under the aegis of Aman ki Asha, however, went a step further. It not only focused on the burden of history that clouds the two sides, it articulated hope and harmony too.

On the one hand, there was the Indian poet Malikzada Manzoor who intoned: Har ek lavz pareshan, har ek misra udaas…Khuda kare woh jo aaye hamare baad, hamare fan ki alamat na samajh paaye (Every word troubled, every verse pain-filled, Hope the future generation does not understand our pain-filled verse). On the other, Pakistani poet Mahmud Sham felt the only way India and Pakistan could turn their backs to a tortured past was to work towards peaceful co-existence. ”Apna aagaz (beginning) jang ke dam se, apna anjaam (end) aman ki asha,” he said.

This was indeed a topical message which struck an instant chord with the poetry lovers. For, as Indian poet and lyricist, Nida Fazli pointed out, it was time to stop reading traditional history books since they talked only about hatred.

The mood at the mushaira wasn’t merely political. Pakistan’s Anwar Shaoor sent the audience in raptures with: ”Achha khasa baithe-baithe gum ho jaata hoon. Ab main aksar main nahin rehta, tum ho jaata hoon,” he said. For Khusbir Singh Shaad, it was the Taj Mahal which became an inspiration as he garnered applause with “Yeh tera Taj nahin, hamari pagdi hai, yeh sar ke saath hi utregi, sar ka hissa hai….”

But the hope for peace remained the leitmotif of the evening as Tariq Subzwari, Pakistani poet intoned: “Aman ki chaon, mohabbat ki nazar maangte hai, saath chalne ke liye, raah guzar maangte hain.”

Courtesy: Times of India