Auckland: The ‘Urdu Hindi Kavi Sammelan’ and ‘Mushaira night’ showcased new faces and fresh talents who showed their passion for poetry and ghazal in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi language.
Held at the Fickling Centre in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday, November 21, the event was organised by the Urdu Hindi Cultural Association of New Zealand, which celebrated ten years of its establishment and operations in the country.
Attending the Mushaira event for the first time in New Zealand, High Commissioner of India in NZ, Muktesh Pardeshi, said he was pleased by the efforts of UHCANZ in promoting Hindi language through such events. He reiterated the significance of Hindi language to be taught amongst the younger generation of Kiwi (NZ) Indians.
Mr Pardeshi applauded the efforts of the Urdu Hindi Cultural Association of New Zealand for promoting Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi language and encouraged it to host more of such events in the future. The event was also attended by Minister of Transport and MP for Mt Roskill Michael Wood, Dr. Deborah Russell, first elected Kiwi Indian, MP Dr. Gaurav Sharma, former MP Kanwaljit Bakshi, and Professor Malcolm Wright, etc.
As the evening progressed, contributors to UHCANZ and poetry enthusiasts took on the stage to read their poems (Shayari and Kavita) in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi language, and sing ghazals along with the tunes of harmonium and table on the stage. A surprising element of the event which received a standing ovation, and a thunderous round of applause was a Kiwi man ‘Daniel’ singing the popular spiritual Sufi song ‘Dama Dam Mast Qalandar’.
The audience was taken by a storm witnessing the energy, enunciation and singing of the traditional Sufi song by an English-speaking Kiwi person. Few other highlights of the event were the releasing of UHCANZ’s annual magazine ‘Dhanak’