The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Toast to Deccani <I>shayari</I>

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 13, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Toast to Deccani shayari

J.S. Ifthekhar

Hyderabadis brave evening chill to soak in mushaira magic

Hyderabad: Man knows how to cry from birth, but laughter takes some learning. Hyderabadis, however, seem to have a natural flair for it. The good turnout at the `tanz-o-mizah' mushaira was proof enough.

The biting chill was no deterrent, nor was the open-air Quli Qutb Shah Stadium. Urdu lovers gathered in large numbers to enjoy the programme organised as part of the annual `Yad-e-Sarwar Danda' mushaira -- a tribute to the poet who immortalised the Deccani style of shayari.

Perhaps in keeping with the `ladies first' principle, Shaheen Sultana was asked to take the stage and `Halchal Hyderabadi,' as her nom de plume goes, set the ball rolling.

Raat bhar neend na aaye to mujhe khat likhna

Yaad jab meri sataye to mujhe khat likhna

Id ke chand mein tum ko nazar aaungi

Chand baadal mein ghir jaye to mujhe khat likhna

And as the laugh-a-minute session progressed, the night warmed up. Capitalising on the cricket fever, Khatpat Bhainsavi regaled the audience with his `cricket shayari.'

Tere dil ke pitch pe main ishq ke chakke-chavve laga loonga

Tu agar nazar se karti rahi bowling, main century bana loonga

Poetess Nani Hyderabadi had the audience in splits with her couplets marked with double-entendre.

Ishq mein mera deewana banne ko tayyar hai

Meri nazron ka nishana banne ko tayyar hai

Kya bataoon jab se Nani takhallus rakhi hoon

Aaj har ek shayar Nana banne ko tayyar hai

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