Iftekhar Raghib, Doha, State of Qatar

Doha, State of Qatar: Halqua Adab-e-Islami Qatar (HAI) organized an Adabi Ijlas (Urdu literary symposium for prose and poetry) in its premises in Madina Khalifa last Thursday evening in honour of Dr Ghazanfar Ali, a well- known fiction writer, novelist and poet from India.

Currently on a private visit to Qatar, Dr Ghazanfar has authored several Urdu novels, collections of fictions and other books on varied topics. At present, he is the director of the Academy of Professional Development of Urdu Medium Teachers at Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi.

The session was presided over by Tajammul Hussain while the chief guest was Dr Ghazanfar. HAI president Dr Ataur Rahman Siddiqui Nadwi conducted the programme. The function kicked off with recitation of verses from the Holy Qur'an by Shamsur Rahman Siddiqui. Iftekhar Raghib, a local poet presented a brief introduction of Dr Ghazanfar.

In the first part of the session, which focused on prose, Dr Faisal Hanif presented a paper on the late Majeed Amjad, a famous Urdu poet from Pakistan. Dr Ghazanfar presented a short-story Pahchaan (The Identity). Both literary pieces were well received and appreciated by the audience.

In the second part, Mushaira (the poetry session), local poets presented their poetry in addition to the chief guest of the function Dr Ghazanfar. Their names are Muhammad Mumtaz Rashed, Jaleel Nizami, Atiq Anzar, Amjad Ali Sarwar, Yusuf Kamal, Firtash Syed, Shafique Akhtar, Shaukat Ali Naaz, Iftekhar Raghib, Farid Nadwi, Syed Fahimuddin, Qaisar Masood, Muzaffar Nayab, Saadat Ali Saadat, Habeeb Hyderabadi, Nazimuddin Khaja, Riaz Azmi and Athar Zia.

Dr Ghazanfar, in his address to the audience as chief guest, lauded the quality of the poetry presented in the session and shared his experiences and observations composed in a poem during his brief stay in Qatar. He thanked the hosts and congratulated the organization on its initiative to hold this memorable literary programme.

In his presidential address, Tajammul Hussain stated that he thoroughly enjoyed the programme form the beginning until the end. He described the short story presented by Dr Ghaanfar as a masterpiece and a model for other writers to follow. He also appreciated the poetry presented by the poets in the session.

The programme came to an end with Dr Ataur Rahman thanking all guests, poets and audience for their presence and interest in making the programme a success.