For those who were present in that intimate setting in Burlington on that colorful evening of September 28th, the fall season was welcomed heartily with a confluence of poetry and music to showcase how poetry has enriched the content of the Indian cinema, over the years. In the process, the audience had the opportunity to immerse into some of the very best of selected poetical gems, which Indian cinema has provided us over the years. It was only befitting that this event was presented by Deedahwar and OP Nayyar Memorial Trust, for the legendary film playback singer Mubarak Begum, who is unfortunately undergoing financial hardship living in Jogeshwari, Mumbai, in her twilight years. The KD team comprised of popular literary personalities, emcees and perhaps the best of the local artistes. It had to be Razia Mashkoor, the torch-bearer of Urdu poetry in Boston and beyond, to take the initiative and weave the event together. With her tremendous enthusiasm, how can one possibly not get passionately involved.

The evening unleashed a string of popular classical film ghazals. Shua Arshad and Salman Dar made a breezy start to the evening promptly at 7pm with the flowing Mubarak Begum-Rafi duet Mujh ko apne gale laga lo , to connect the audience immediately with the lady who we were honoring. After that, the audience sat back and indulged generously into a feast of lyrical poetry. From Ghalib’s classic Dil-e-nadaan tujhe huwa kya hai to Gulzar’s Humne dekhi hai in ankhon se mehekti khushboo, there was everything in between. We had Bahadur Shah Zafar’s immortal Na kisi ki ankh ka noor hoon, soulfully rendered by Shekhar Shastri before the interval and Majrooh’s Hum hein matae kuchao bazar ki tarah rendered by Meena Sundaram and Anuradha singing Yun hasraton ke daagh post-break, among others.

Our local stars Anuradha Palakurthi, Kiran Nath, Meena Sundaram, Meesha Acharya, Nayanika, Pratibha Shah, Shua K Arshad with the male component by Dilip Acharya, Pankaj Shah, Salman Dar, Sankar Gangaikondan, Shekhar Shastri and Vijay Kumar, displayed the poetical contributions of Janisar Akhtar, Kaifi Azmi, Naqsh Lyallpuri, Neeraj, Rajinder Krishan, Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakeel Badayuni, Sheharyar and other stalwarts of the literary world, as well as the Indian cinema.

The presenters highlighted the fact that the poets merge their soul with the ghazal or nazm they create. These ghazals were able to heighten any given emotion on the big screen, by not just inter-twining with the story but usually moving the story forward. Harish Dang, Kumkum P. Malik, Maarij Kirmani, Paresh Motiwala, Razia Mashkoor, Swathi Subramaniam and yours truly were entrusted to introduce each stage presentation.

Paresh Motiwala provided the perfect post-break treat with stand-up comedy emulating the sophisticated, well groomed, evil mastermind Ajit, known for his villainous dialogs wrapped in humor. We managed to get hold of at least one of his many henchmen Robert, played amicably on stage by Prashanth Palakurthi.

Razia Mashkoor and Kumkum P. Malik provided the literary support, an integral part of the event. The audio engineering provided by Nidhin Thomas and Sameer was flawless. The vibrant Kitab-e-Dil team did everything possible to make it an engaging and enjoyable evening from serving paan to guests to delicious snacks provided by Café India. Nayanika’s mesmerizing rendition of Tum apna ranjo gham complemented her self-designed lamps which enriched the beautiful stage backdrop, all done in-house by Team KD.

The evening cruised to its closure with Sankar Gangaikondan’s moving presentation of Karvan guzar gaya and Shua Arshad paying homage to Mubarak Begum by singing her signature Hamari yaad ayegi. It was a nostalgic evening tasting the ultimate poetical masterpieces, which will remain etched in the history of Indian films. For a few hours, the guests were taken away on a journey, where poetical and the musical blended at its best. It was a humble presentation to acknowledge and treasure the poetical legacy, left behind for us.

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