Mahatma Gandhi once said “In a gentle way, you can shake the world”; this quote was well complimented and witnessed at the Writers’ Forum Kuwait’s celebration “Jashn- e-Gandhi”, an event commemorating the birth of the great leader and India’s Father of the Nation “Mahatma Gandhi”.
The Writers’ Forum Kuwait celebrated the occasion with much zeal by organizing a multilingual Kavi-Sammelan and Mushaira on 8th October at Avanti Palace Restaurant in Salmiya, Kuwait. Much Patriotism and chauvinism was demonstrated in a jam-packed hall with 15 poets exhibiting their talent through seven Indian languages. While the President of the Forum Mrs. Maimuna Ali Chougle presided over the function, Dr Hassan, a famous cardiologist and erudite Radio Urdu speaker along with renowned artist and General Secretary of Gujarati association Samarpan, Mr Siddharth Mod, was the chief guest.
Forum’s patron Mr. Ali Chougle’s presence made the event complete in all sense. Ms. Nazneen Ali, the General Secretary of the Forum, was the compere, who opened up the program with her beautiful quote dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. Mrs. Maimuna Chougle greeted the Chief Guests with flowers which was followed by the customary lighting of the lamp by the Chief Guests, President Mrs. Maimuna Chougle, General Secretary Ms. Nazneen Ali and executive member Dr. Radhika Guleri Bhardwaj.
A strong start of the event was assured by an influential speech by Mrs. Maimuna Ali Chougle mentioning both the greatness of the leader and the work and contribution that the forum is doing in the field of literature. She mentioned that Mahatma Gandhi is in true sense immortal as he is alive in our minds through his principles of Truth and Non Violence. She further admired the great leader’s efforts in breaking the shackles of slavery and letting the country breathe in the air of freedom. She also applauded the feminist power prevalent in the Forum particularly in organizing this successful event.
The poetry session incepted with a feeling of Nationalism by a Poem on the Father of the Nation by Ms. Parminder Kaur in English (recited by Mohan Singh) and a well comprehended tribute to the Mahatma by Ameeruddin Ameer in Hindi. Nothing can be as soothing as an Urdu Ghazal recited in a melodious way and so was the well appreciated performance by Ibrahim Sange Qasid. Dr. Sabiha Bilgrami’s devoir recitation was as impressive as ever while Ms. Kalpana Shah’s recitation in Hindi was full of vigor that filled everyone with abundant love for the motherland. Sabir Omer’s Urdu Ghazal in the sequence was a good experiment and a mood changer for the audience.
The beauty of expressions was well witnessed when Ms. Pallavi Nithin’s Marathi poem was equally enjoyed by the non-Marathi speaking audience. The momentum continued with Ms. Kavita Sarvesh’s Hindi poem that mesmerized the audience and an extraordinary performance by Saeed Nazar Kadpawi in Urdu raised the bar and the event escalated to the next level. Ms. Nazneen Ali, who used beautiful couplet and some witty comments to make the event lively through her anchoring was equally solemn while reciting her patriotic poetry. Urdu Poet Yaseen Dawre and Punjabi Poet Pankaj Pawan were well appreciated for their debut performance on the Forum’s platform. The versatility of the subjects and languages was evident through a poem in Oriya by Biswa Ranjan. All the languages except Hindi, Urdu and English were rhythmically translated and presented by Dr. Radhika Guleri Bhardwaj who culminated the poetry session through her striking poem in Hindi.
The captivating event became more charismatic with the Chief Guest Dr. Hassan’s interesting and delightful talk about Mahatma Gandhi and about various facets of life. Mr. Siddarth Mod’s patriotic speech and poems in Gujrati was a perfect end to the event which was officially concluded by a vote of thanks to the audience, eminent
guests and the poets by Dr. Sabiha Bilgrami.
An appetizing dinner at Avanti Palace Restaurant was an ideal sign off for the Gandhi Jayanti celebration.
