Patna: A mushaira held in memory of the renowned Urdu poet Shad Azimabadi drew a packed audience to Premchand Rangshala on Thursday evening, warming a cold winter night with poetry and sustained applause.
The Shad Azimabadi Festival was organised jointly by Bihar’s department of art and culture and the Bihar Sangeet Natak Akademi. The event was inaugurated by Ruby, director of cultural affairs, alongside Mahmood Alam, secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and Ajay Kumar Singh, assistant director and district information and public relations officer.
In her opening remarks, Ruby described Shad Azimabadi as a scholar-poet and prose writer whose work continues to shape Bihar’s literary imagination. Cultural programmes of this kind, she said, were essential to sustaining public engagement with literature, noting the strong turnout despite the cold.
The evening opened with verses by M R Chishti, whose poem invoking ambition, fragrance and light was met with extended applause. Shailendra Madhur, a poet from Allahabad, followed with couplets on love and vulnerability that prompted repeated cries of appreciation from the audience.
Younger voices also featured prominently. Sanya Rai’s poetry drew particular praise, while Gulrez Shahzad’s lines on loss and emotion echoed through the hall to a chorus of “wah, wah”.
Poets and writers from across the country took part, including Khurshid Akbar, Tang Inayatpuri, Anwar Kalam, Shakeel Azmi, Azam Shakri, Moin Shadab, Dr Nikhat Amrohvi and Manika Dubey. Their compositions ranged from romantic expression to reflections on social realities and contemporary life.
Concluding the programme, Alam thanked the poets and audience, saying such gatherings were vital to strengthening Bihar’s cultural identity. The mushaira was presided over by Khurshid Akbar, with Moin Shadab managing the stage.
As the evening drew to a close, applause lingered in the auditorium, underscoring the festival’s aim of renewing interest in Shad Azimabadi’s legacy and Bihar’s wider literary tradition. Senior officials including deputy secretary Kahkashan and former special secretary Rajesh Kumar were also present.
