SHARJAH: The legend of revolutionary Urdu poet Josh Malihabadi (1898-1982) came alive at a special evening dedicated in his honour at Sharjah’s Expo Centre on Friday.
Called Mehfil-E-Josh, the event featured recitals of poems composed by Josh who penned over 100,000 couplets and nearly 1,000 rubaiyat (collection of quatrains) in his lifetime.
Another highlight of the evening was an absorbing talk session where Josh’s grandson Kaleem Shikoh and famous Urdu poet Dr Waseem Barelvi gave a detailed insight into the poetic genius of Josh.
Born as Shabbir Hasan Khan, Josh gained national eminence when he challenged the established order in British-ruled India with his poems.
His autobiography “Yaadon ki Barat” is considered one of the best works in Urdu literature.
Josh was an Indian citizen until 1956, when he emigrated to Pakistan and became a Pakistani citizen.
Several UAE-based poets including Nasr, Tarannum, Amaan, Mossa, Ehya, Shadab, Sarosh Asif, Irfan Izhar, Zubair Farooq, Asif Asjad, Farhad Jabreel, Moosa Malihabadi, Tabish, Farooq Siddiqui, Sarwat Zehra, Javed Siddiqui and Asim Wasti also recited poems at the event which was put together by Imad ul Malik and Farhan Wasti and managed by Inspire Events & Promotions.
