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The Majlis-Frogh-e-Urdu Adab presented the 23rd Aalmi Frogh-e-Urdu Awards to Prof Tehsin Firaqi, a reputed Urdu scholar, researcher and critic from Pakistan, and Fay Seen Ejaz, an eminent literary journalist, poet, critic, and creative fiction and travelogues writer from India, at a glittering ceremony at the City Centre Rotana Hotel recently.
Director of Publications and Translation at the Ministry of Culture and Sports Mohammed Hassan al-Kuwari was the chief guest on the occasion. The other prominent guests included Maqbool Habib Khalfan, Prof Qazi Abid and Prof Aqeela Bashir.
The Majlis launched the Aalmi Frogh-e-Urdu Adab Awards in 1996. The award comprises a gold medal and cash award of Rs150,000 for each winner, one from Pakistan and the other from India, for their life-time achievements in fiction, research and critical works.
Mushfiq Raza Naqvi and Javed Bhatti presented citations in honour of the award winners. Obaid Tahir conducted the proceedings of the award ceremony.
After the awards presentation, an international mushaira was held, which featured top poets from Pakistan, India, the US, Canada, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Amjad Islam Amjad, a well-known Urdu poet, playwright, and columnist from Pakistan presided over the mushaira, while Dr Fartash Syed compered it.
The guest poets from Pakistan included Amjad Islam Amjad, Dr Tehsin Firaqi, Dr Ambareen Haseeb Amber, Shaukat Fehmi, Dr Fartash Syed, Junaid Azar and Idrees Qureshi. The guest poets from India included Fay Seen Ejaz, Charan Singh Bashar, Shakeel Azmi, Nusrat Zaheer Ahmed and Zubair Ali Tabish. Dr Syed Taqi Abedi from Canada, Dr Nausha Asrar from the US, Syed Sadaqat Ali Tarmazi from Kuwait, Qamar Riaz from Oman and Qatar-based poets Asif Shafi, Raza Hussain Raza and Sanwal Abbasi regaled the audience with their works.
A souvenir and two books were also launched on the occasion. The first book, ‘Zard Mosam Kay Gulab’, is a translation of Qatari novel ‘Maa-ul-Ward’ by Dr Noora Faraj, which has been translated by Obaid Tahir. 
The second book, ‘Qatar Ki Nakabandi’ (The Blockade of Qatar), is also the translation of an Arabic book ‘Hisar Qatar’ by Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. The book has been published by Mohammad Ashraf Siddique and translated by Nadeem Maher and Niaz Ahmed Azami.
Earlier, Majlis Chairman Mohammed Atiq welcomed the gathering and thanked the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Ministry of Interior of Qatar, the coordinators in India and Pakistan, and the sponsors for their support in organising the event. “We have been offering the awards continuously for the last 23 years. I became dejected after the death of the the founder of Majlis, Malik Museeb-ur-Rehman, in 2006. I felt very lonely while running the affairs of the literary group. However, I felt responsible to further the mission of Mr. Museeb to promote Urdu literature. I am thankful to all members of Majlis whose support and contributions have helped the forum to continue its annual literary activities,” said Atiq.
Expressing his immense pleasure in attending the event, Mohammed Hassan al-Kuwari, who is also a poet and novelist, said, “Minister of Culture and Sports HE Salah bin Ghanem al-Ali personally asked me to come here and represent him. On this occasion, I recall the words of the Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, during his speech at the UN General Assembly. HH the Amir said he is proud of the residents of Qatar as much as he is proud of the people of Qatar. Qatar has had historic and deep-rooted relations with Pakistan and India. The cultural influences of these countries are overwhelmingly visible in Qatar. Urdu has its influence not only in Qatar but also in other Gulf states. I am proud that I have friends who speak Urdu. I wish I knew Urdu and I would be able to listen and enjoy the creative works of the renowned poets tonight.”
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20/11/2019
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