Allama Iqbal’s enduring appeal unparalleled

Islamic Culture

20 Sep 2008, NewAgeIslam.Com

Allama Iqbal's enduring appeal unparalleled

By J.S. Ifthekhar   Hyderabad: They are almost synonymous. Hyderabad and shayari. Nothing sways the 'ahl-e-zoukh' here more than poetry. And if it is the bard of the East, the effect is simply heady. The city has just crossed a literary milestone by hosting lyrical sittings of Mohammed Iqbal, the poet-philosopher, for 11 long years. This speaks volumes about the poetic passion of Hyderabadis as also the enduring appeal of Iqbal.   What's more, it is not curtains yet. Five hundred and going strong. Yes. Even after so many sessions the programme's popularity has not waned. It was on October 8, 1997, that the first of "Mehfil-e-Iqbal Shinasi" was organised at the conference hall of Jama Masjid, Gunfoundry. Over the years the programme has gone from strength to strength with the circle of Iqbal aficionados increasing by the day.Interestingly, no other Urdu poet has bagged this honour. Even Pakistan can't boast of such marathon poetic sittings. But why Iqbal? He is perhaps the best articulated Muslim response to modernity and represents the collective consciousness of the community. But the provocation for the programme was the failure of a well known Hyderabadi to recollect a famous Iqbal couplet during a meeting. As he struggled to recall the verse, a senior advocate, Ghulam Yazdani, present there wondered how posterity would remember the great poet when an elderly person was forgetting him.   Interesting start   "I decided to hold Iqbal shinasi programmes with the help of late Jafar Nizam and Zaheeruddin," says Mr. Yazdani.   The weekly programmes became an instant hit. They explored evolution of Iqbal from a poet of linguistic purity to a poet of social reform and patriotic passion to a poet of new world outlook. Noted scholars like Mohd. Maslahuddin Saadi, Prof. Taqi Khan, Ziauddin Shakeeb threw light on Iqbal's concept of 'Mard-e-Momin' (superman), his philosophy of 'khudi' (ego), the call for a dynamic life and his desire to provide spiritual guidance to a universe lost in pursuance of material happiness.   The most quoted poet in intellectual circles, there are still many aspects of Iqbal left uncovered. "We will continue to explore them in future," says Mr. Yazdani.   http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/11/stories/2008091159950400.htm