Usually, I have found that the South Asian community hosts entertainment program featuring popular songs and dance performances, most of whom poor copies from Bollywood movies. On Valentine's Day of Ferurary 14, Holiday Inn owner, Gulshan Chhabra and Edison Councilman Dr. Sudhanshu Prasad invited me for an unusual program of Ghazal recitation by Kader khan, whom I have known as an actor and dialogue writer. To my surprise Khan used his deep theatrical voice to recite classical verses of Ghalib that, in spite of being popular, were full of difficult Persian and Urdu words. Undoubtedly, Ghalib remains a binding force for all South Asians, just like Amir Khusro, Iqbal, Kabir and Meerabai. Here is a brief report of Kader Khan's show:
Kader Khan, a legendary actor and writer of Hindi movies, enthralled the audience in Edison with his recitation of verses written by the classical Urdu and Persian poet of India, Ghalib, whose Ghazals remain popular not only in India and Pakistan but also amongst diaspora communities around the world. The program was organized on Valentine's Day at Holiday Inn hotel in Edison.
The audience thoroughly enjoyed the lines recited by Khan in his innovative style that were followed by performances by professional Ghazal singers, Shimble Raza and Ghulam Abbas. Khan said that he was happy to present Ghalib's poetry to the South Asian community of New Jersey on Valentine's Day, that was celebrated to spread the message of love. He, however, fell short of endorsing the way this event was celebrated in the West. “We must not divert from our traditions and culture and mistakenly express superficial affection for the opposite sex”, he cautioned. “Ghalib was a romantic person who deeply remained attached to traditions and social norms.”
Khan, who arrived in Edison from Canada, interpreted the lines for the benefit of non-Urdu speaking audience. The lines were simultaneously displayed on a lager screen during his recitation. “I would like you to feel the nuances of the great poetry of Ghalib before you burst into applause”, he commented laughingly.
Some of the lines that Khan recited included, “Dil-e-Nadan tujhe hua kya hai, Aakhir is marz ki dawa kya hai (O, innocent heart what is wrong with you, I am at a loss to find the remedy for this suffering!).”
Khan explained that he wanted to expose the South Asian communities in USA and Canada to their rich tradition of classical poetry of the past centuries. “We all are familiar with Ghalib's verses but don't fully grasp the in-depth meaning of words and symbols used by the poet”, he explained. He said that he planned to distribute printed copies of Ghalib's poems among his audience during his future shows.
Khan said that he was engaged in teaching Arabic and Urdu to the natives of India and Pakistan who were living in Dubai while he taught Hindi and Urdu to the Arabic speaking population.
Ghalib wrote his poetry during the fading phase of the Mogul empire and the tragic failure of 1957's mutiny against the British. His original name was Mirza Asadullah Beg who, following the tradition of classical Urdu poets, adopted the nick name, Ghalib. He was born on December 27, 1797 in Agra of parents with Turkish aristocratic ancestry.
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