Mushaira, Qawwali aur Mehfil: Indore se Irshaad

These are the times when open mic sessions and gigs have become extremely popular amongst city youngsters, yet the language of tehzeeb hasn’t lost its essence either. The young Indorians continue partaking in mushairas, organise their own qawwali sessions, and have also managed to open a poetic lounge. Indore Times finds out more about this trend picking up in the city.

Colleges host Mushairas
According to Indore-based young poet Satlaj Rahat, the city is teeming with budding poets who want to join in the mushairas held across the city. “I’ve been to various events organised across the city and I have come across so many youngsters who have delivered some prolific shayaris, keeping the audience hooked,” shares Satlaj. He adds that in a recent mushaira held at Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) auditorium, he came across many youngsters who worked backstage to share the space with eminent poets, thereby learning the finer nuances of the language up-close. “Most of these young poets you come across at mushairas are self-taught and are really good at it,” Satlaj adds.
Not only private organisations, but academic institutes too are encouraging youngsters to bring out their hidden talent. We saw IIT Indore organise a mushaira recently as a part of their fest Fluxus. Here shayaris on philosophy, romance, satire, and various political issues was a huge hit among the audience. “These are the trending topics among youngsters,” informs Madhyam Saxena, one of the participants at the event. Madhyam hails from Bareli, but is a regular visitor to the city, thanks to the frequently organised poetry slams and mushairas. It is a testimony to the city’s urge to keep the tradition alive.
Young poets: A hit on social media
Lovelorn couplets seem to have taken the social media by storm these days. For Dheeraj Chauhan, a 23-year-old city-based budding poet, this means more recognition. “I have been penning my own poetry for past two years, and my work has now being shared by my friends on social media. But more than the likes and retweets from my peers, I was overwhelmed when the well-known poet Vishwas Kumar retweeted a couplet I had posted on Twitter,” informs Dheeraj, before opening his diary to recite it aloud, “Hum chamakna chahte hai der tak, humne apni roshni halki rakhi hai.”

The stage is set
While gigs are trending at various upbeat cafes in the city, Aman Akshar, a 26-year-old shayar has opened up a cafe that celebrates the language of tehzeeb. Akshar’s poetic lounge, cheekily named Mohalla Mohabbat ka, is a restaurant-cum-bookshop. Here like-minded people meet and poetry slams are organised every month.
Sharing his vision behind the venture, Aman Akshar says, “A lot of youngsters kept approaching me to learn Urdu. Though young, they are keen to learn and showcase their talent. Hence, I thought of opening a cafe that would provide them with a platform to revive the tradition of reciting mushairas.” He’s quick to add, “Bevkuf aur shayar banaye nahi jaate woh upar se paida hote hai (laughs). The beauty of Urdu is such that even an immature poem sounds soothing to the ears.”

Qawwali groups join the bandwagon
A group of eight twenty-something boys have started organising qawwali mehfils. The sessions began when some of them started hosting such mehfils almost four years ago. “Two of my friends and I started organising qawwali sessions. It would usually be at the houses of connoisseurs,” informs Ashfaq Tabish, one of the group members. The group has recently started organising such sessions commercially. “Back then it was just the three of us, but now we are eight youngsters who sing, recite shayaris and play harmonium and tabla. Our qawwalis belong to the Sufi mehfil genre wherein we recite various silsile, including the Chisti Silsila and Warsi Silsila. The audience is selective, but with changing times, the trend is changing. We see more young audiences coming to witness our performance,” informs the 27-year-old working professional.