Mushaira
Mushaira (
Etymology
According to Oxford English Dictionary, the Urdu word Mushaira comes from an Arabic word “mušā'ara” meaning “vying poetry”.[2]
Some legends suggest that Mushaira was first organized by
According to some other legends, Mushaira originated in the 14th century in
History
History of Initiatives
Urdu poetry took the final decisive position in the 17th century when
History of Development
The most common form of poetry recital was the mushaira, or poetic symposium, where poets would gather to read their compositions crafted in accordance to a strict metrical pattern, agreed upon beforehand, even while meeting a certain loftiness of thought. The real initiative was legendary that took in the 18th century in the Mughal Court helping Urdu Mushaira reach its final, decisive form. A culture was built around taking lessons in poetry writing; it even became fashionable for royalty to learn Urdu shairi. Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor of India, was an accomplished poet in his own right. He had a habit of setting his court difficult poetic tasks, such as the challenging art of tazmin, which led to the development of Tarahi Mushaira.[6]
Forms
A mushaira can take a number of forms. Traditionally, the
These days invited guest poets will usually be seated behind a long table at the front of the room, with often the most admired of them seated in the centre. One person will host the mushaira, inviting each poet to come and perform. However, the form is relatively free, and anyone can come forward and ask to perform. The host usually lets the most admired poet present be the last to perform. Traditionally, a burning candle used to be passed from one end of the line to the other indicating whose turn it is to present.
The audience often interacts with the poets, most often with encouraging calls of wah wah at the end of appreciated couplets. If a couplet is particularly appreciated, there may be calls for the poet to repeat it, or the audience might spontaneously repeat it themselves. The latter is done when a poet's first couplet is appreciated. " Recently, the combination of traditional Mushaira with Hindi kavi sammelan has given it a big thrust. Now, such "Mushaira-Kavi Sammelan" are being organised across the globe.[8]
Tarahi Mushaira
Sometimes a mushaira is more competitive. The Tarahi Mushaira is a particular form where a misra (couplet) is given, and poets compose their ghazals using that misra (couplet) the behar (rhythmic metre) of the misra (couplet). According to a contemporary Urdu poet Prof. Waseem Khan Seem, and Dr Muhammad Shakeel Khan however the usual and traditional way of writing Urdu poetry in the most natural way for any authentic poet is to write poetry on the basis of AAMAD (germination of poetic thoughts in poet's mind) instead of just following Tarhai Misra.
References
- ^ "Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Funny weekend in store for poetry lovers". The Hindu. 9 December 2005. Archived from the original on 7 September 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
- ^ "MUSHAIRA | Meaning & Definition for UK English | Lexico.com". Archived from the original on 1 December 2020.
- ^ a b Vasilyeva, Ludmila (2010). "The Indian Mushairah: Traditions and modernity" (PDF). Columbia University: 6–8. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
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(help) - ^ Nawazish, Khawar (28 June 2018). "Tahqeeq Nama". 22 (1). Government College University, Lahore: 59–68. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
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(help) - ^ "For the Love of Poetry: Mughals & Mushairas". 5 September 2013.
- ^ "Of mushairas and Urdu poetry in an era gone by - Times of India". The Times of India. 29 November 2013.
- ^ "Mehfil-e-Mushaira -- History of Ghazal". Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ^ "Indo-Pak Mushaira in Dubai today". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.