Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: “Every land has a characteristic, Marathwada is the land of saints. Sant Eknath gave the message of equality to the world by giving water to a thirsty child from an underprivileged community. The same tradition of humanity was preserved by Urdu poets. This pious land also gave the first Urdu writer Wali Aurangabadi to the world. Also, with the contribution of Bashar Nawaz, Siraj Aurangabadi, Dawood Aurangabadi, Sikandar Aurangabadi, and Safi Aurangabadi in Urdu, the land of Marathwada has become the home of Urdu,” said Dr Sagheer Afrahim, veteran ghazal writer and former head of the Urdu Department of Aligarh Muslim University.
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day national seminar on 'Maharashtra Mein Urdu Adab Ki Surat-e-Hal' organised by the Department of Urdu and Bazm-e-Tathir e Adab, MGM University.
Dr A G Khan presided over the ceremony. University Chancellor Ankushrao Kadam, Registrar Dr Ashish Gadekar, Dean Dr Rekha Shelke, renowned Urdu storyteller Nurul Hassnain, and director Dr Shaili Asthana were present.
Aslam Mirza, Dr Salim Mohiuddin, Farooq Samim, Raza Jalanvi, Yusuf Saber, Dr Sami Siddiqui, Ahmed Aurangabadi, Imran Razvi, Wasim Rahi, Bilal Anwar, Dr Rihana Syed, Dr Shahnaz Basmeh, the ghazal writers from all over the country, enthralled the audience through their ghazals in Mehfil-e-Mushaira.
Dr Sajid Alam and Nurulain Khan conducted the proceedings of the event while Coordinator Dr Aswad Gauhar and Dr Shahnaz Basmeh proposed a vote of thanks.