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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline SEPTEMBER 19, 2025 | The Indian Eye 26

Seventeenth Annual Mushaira–Kavi Sammelan

Celebrates South Asia’s Shared Heritage

OUR BUREAU

Washington, DC
he Metro Washington chapters
of the Global Organization of
TPeople of Indian Origin (GO-
PIO-Metro Washington) and the
Aligarh Alumni Association (AAA-
DC) jointly hosted the 17th Annual
Mushaira–Kavi Sammelan on Satur-
day, September 6, 2025, at the Mont-
gomery County Executive Building
Auditorium in Rockville, Maryland.
The program was co-sponsored by
several local literary and cultural or-
ganizations, including the Association
of Indian Muslims (AIM), the Hyder-
abad Association of the Washington
Metro Area (HAWMA), the Mont- tatives of partner organizations and
gomery Nawabs (MONA), the Global the Embassy of India. Recognized
Beat Foundation (GBF), the Bazm- for their continued support were Ms.
e-Harf-o-Sukhan (BHS), and RR K Ariena Rashid (AAA-DC), Dr. Re-
Biosciences. nuka Misra (GOPIO), Mr. Kaleem
Program Coordinator Dr. Zaf- Kawaja (AIM), Mr. Mir Zahid Ali
ar Iqbal welcomed the audience. He (HAWMA), Dr. Mohammad Akbar
recalled the event’s origins in 2008 as (MONA), Ms. Nuzaira Azam (GBF),
a forum to commemorate Yaum-e- Dr. Arif Mahmood (BHS), and Dr.
Azadi (South Asia’s Independence Qazi Hamid (R K Biosciences).
Day) through poetry in both Urdu By bringing together poets from
and Hindi. Conceived by Drs. Renuka both Urdu and Hindi traditions, the
Misra and Zafar Iqbal (GOPIO-Met- Mushaira–Kavi Sammelan bridges
ro Washington) and Dr. A. Abdullah linguistic divides and highlights the
(AAA-DC), the Mushaira–Kavi Sam- deep interconnections between vo-
melan has since become an annual tra- Abdullah, Dr. K. Mohan, Raj Kumar Rashid delivered the vote of thanks. cabulary, idiom, and poetic form.
dition celebrating South Asia’s shared Qais, Anadi Naik, Dr. Astha Naval, The gathering also paid warm Over the years, it has drawn audiences
Ganga–Jamuni cultural heritage. Dhananjaya Kumar, Rashmi Sanan, tributes to late senior poets of the ranging from students and families to
A milestone was reached in 2011, Farah Kamran, Surinder Deol, Dal- Washington area—Professor Satyap- immigrants, longtime residents, and
when the Embassy of India joined er Deol Aashna, Salman Akhtar, and al Anand, Aziz Qureshi, and Rakesh diplomats, fostering interfaith under-
GOPIO and AAA-DC to host the Prof. Gopichand Narang. Khandelwal—as well as to eminent standing and intergenerational bonds
first international bilingual poetry rec- The 2025 session featured an im- Urdu scholars Professor C.M. Naim within the diaspora. Its continuity and
itation—an initiative inspired by Dr. pressive lineup of poets, including A. (University of Chicago) and Professor inclusiveness ensure that South Asia’s
Virandar Paul (my colleague from the Abdullah, Astha Naval, Harish Naval, Tahsin Siddiqi (University of Michi- literary heritage remains vibrant in the
All-India Institute of Medical Scienc- Madhu Maheshwari, Mohammed Ak- gan, Ann Arbor). Washington, DC area.
es, New Delhi), then Minister at the bar, Mohammed Jaweed, Narendra Special guests included represen- Photos: Aslam Azad & Mohammad Haziq
Indian Embassy in Washington. This Tandon, Nisha Narayan, Preethi Gov-
recognition solidified the event as a indaraj, Razi Raziuddin, Rizwan Ali,
platform for cultural diplomacy. Sarwat Parvez, Sarwat Zehra, Shamsa
This year, Mr. Vivek Chaudhary, Najam, Sneh Sudha, Sukesh Chopra,
First Secretary at the Embassy of Tabassum, Uday Kamath, Vinita Tiwari,
India, applauded the organizers for Vishakha Thaker, and Yusuf Rahat.
presenting an inspiring and meaning- The session was presided over by
ful program. Dr. Harish Naval, an acclaimed satirist
A defining feature of the Mushai- and author of more than 40 books, as
ra–Kavi Sammelan has been its en- well as a recipient of the Yuva Jnan-
couragement of literary talent in pith Prize. He enriched the proceed-
the diaspora, often marked by book ings with his literary observations.
launches of both emerging and es- The program was conducted with
tablished writers. Over the years, the elegance by Mohammed Akbar, who
stage has hosted acclaimed authors also introduced poets with verses of his
and poets such as Prof. Satyapal own. Dr. Mohammad Haziq served as
Anand, Prof. Asghar Wajahat, Dr. A. master of ceremonies, and Dr. Salman

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