Bashir Badr, an embarrassment for Urdu fraternity

Bashir Badr

Bashir Badr, a fine poet, has lately become an embarrassment for the entire Urdu fraternity.

His excessive bragging and boastful statements suggest that he is bordering megalomania.

In a recent interview published in a prominent Hindi daily newspaper, Badr, said that if Mir and Ghalib were alive even they would be jealous of his popularity. Though the interviewer didn’t ask him, he repeatedly said that he owns plush house that has over ten rooms on both the floors.

Badr is the Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Urdu Academy and got the post due to sycophantic ways. When asked why the Academy has stopped publishing books and helping writers who are living in penury, he said that he was not aware of that.

When he was asked that a veteran poet like Raza Rampuri is seriously ill and needs financial support but why the Academy wasn’t bothered, Badar didn’t care to answer. Flying off at a tangent, Badr said that he considerd Atal Bihari Vajpayee as his father.

He kept on saying things like, “I make lot of money, earn thousands for a single couplet” and that he is “the last poet in the line of great poets of Urdu that is a language borne out of Sanskrit”.

Ironically, Badr has been sycophantic to such an extent that he once famously said that he can even clean the floor of the BJP office. It was in return that he was offered the post of Urdu Academy chairman.

In interviews, he keeps on stressing that there is no photograph of his father in his house but Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s photographs are present in every room.

During his tenure the MP Urdu Academy has stopped all work. There are few function, hardly any seminars, no campaigns for Urdu or efforts to appoint Urdu teachers, except a couple of mushairas every year.

No doubt, Bashir Badr is a fine poet. His collections of poetry have earned him name and fame. But he is neither the most representative poet of his era, nor a poet of stature of Shaharyar and Ahmad Faraz, let alone Ali Sardar Jafri, Majrooh, Kaifi Azmi or Janisar Akhtar.

However, his statements claiming that he is better than Ghalib and Meer, have hurt his image. Publicly and even among poetic fraternity he is now looked down upon. Many of his couplets are said to be work of old masters with lesser fame which he allegedly changed to suit his needs.

The literary societies who used to invite him for mushairas, stopped inviting him because of his demand for more fee. He also used to force them to send two tickets so that he could take his wife along.

Still, despite all these allegations and controversies, he was considered a fairly good poet. But in the last couple of years, his growing megalomania had made him almost a pariah in Urdu poetry circles.

By Indscribe
AnIndianMuslim.com

Dr Aafia Siddiqui: The screams of prisoner number 650

Read this post in Urdu. It is an excerpt from Ahmed Javed’s article that was published in Hindustan Express Urdu daily recently. The text may be a bit taxing for your eyes but do read it. The plight of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and the criminal silence of the society that remained almost indifferent to her, is shocking by any means. Though there are voices now and Pakistanis seem to have woken up to the tragedy but there is no anger visible on the street as yet.

AnIndianMuslim.com

Shugoofa: Humour magazine from Hyderabad

Shugoofa is a rare magazine dedicated to humour and satire, which is published from Hyderabad Deccan (India).

In an era when magazines are finding it tough to survive, Shagoofa has completed 40 years of publication and is now in its 41st year. What distinguishes it from other magazines is the fact that all the articles and verses are purely literary with a tinge of humour and satire unlike most other magazines with popular humour.

It is difficult to find such a standard literary-humorist magazine in any other language. The standard of magazines that are solely devoted to humour generally deteriorates and cheap humour makes an entry but this is not the case with Shagoofa.

It has articles, ghazals, nazms, travelogues and all literary genres. The Zindadilan-e-Hyderabad, a literary organisation, brings out this magazine. The Editor is Dr Syed Mustafa Kamal while Abid Moiz is the Overseas Editor.

The postal address is 31, Bachelors Quarters, Moazzam Jahi Market, Hyderabad-500001 India. The magazine is priced at Rs 20 and the annual subscription is Rs 225. The phone numbers are 24745716 and 23326185.

AnIndianMuslim.com

Campaign for Urdu signboards in Mumbai

The campaign to put up signboards in Urdu that has set off in Mumbai. It’s been quite long since we last heard of such a drive from anywhere in India.

The Qaumi Majlis-e-Shoora (QMS) has started the ‘Urdu tehreek’ and nameplates written in Urdu have been put up again. The drive has started from Bhindi Bazaar and will soon spread to other parts of the metropolis and later to state.

The recent incident in which the Urdu nameplate of leader of the Samajwadi Party councillors (corporators) group in BMC was removed by Shiv Sena, seems to have jolted the Urdu-speaking populace.

The fact is that Urdu is one of the official languages of Indian republic and ought to be given its rightful place along with other languages. Over 2.5 million (25 lakh) people speak Urdu in Bombay alone. Organisations in other cities across the country must also take the lead and emulate QMS. Every Urdu-speaker must ensure that at least his nameplate would be in Urdu and the shop will have Urdu signpost.

AnIndianMuslim.com

Rafia Manzoorul Ameen passes away in Hyderabad

Urdu writer

Eminent Urdu writer Rafia Manzoorul Ameen passed away in Hyderabad Deccan recently. She was 78.

Her first novel ‘Saare jahaan ka dard’ that was set in Kashmir was published by Naseem Anhonvi’s publication from Lucknow. She wrote Yeh Raste and later Aalampanah which got her immense popularity as TV serial Farmaan was based on it.

She passed away when the muezzin gave the call for Zohr namaaz and after repeating the initial words ‘Allah-o-Akbar’, she breathed her last, reports Nadeem Siddiqui, in Inquilab Urdu daily (Mumbai).

She wrote over 200 stories in her literary career. She was a student of science and also wrote a book ‘Saainsi Zaaviye’ that was in the syllabus in Nagpur. Rafia Manzurul Amin was born in 1930 and died on June 30, 2008.

AnIndianMuslim.com

Noor: A standard Urdu monthly for children

For almost six decades, Noor, has been the leading children’s magazine in the country and has helped keeping Urdu alive among the young ones in India.

The Noor digest is published from Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) and is a must in every household where Urdu is spoken. Along with Umang and Payam-e-Talim, Noor is among the few standard periodicals for kids whose mother tongue is Urdu.

Priced at Rs 18 per month, the annual subscription costs Rs 200, however, if you want it through registered post the charge is Rs 410. For subscription you can contact idaraalhasanat@hotmail.com

In the past, Khilaunda, Toffee and Kaliyan were among the major children’s magazines but now few such magazines remain. And all Urdu lovers must patronise them.

For subscription you can send money order and also write a post card with the details of money order slip to Idara-e-Alhasanat, Old Khandsar, Rampur (UP), 244901.

AnIndianMuslim.com