The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Funny weekend in store for poetry lovers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 09, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Funny weekend in store for poetry lovers

J.S. Ifthekhar

Sarwar Danda annual concert to be held at Quli Qutb Shah stadium

Hyderabad: Do you have a funny bone? If yes, here is a chance to let it tickle endlessly. This weekend you can laugh away the winter blues.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan -- does it ring a bell? Not many would nod their head. But say Sarwar Danda and the face lights up. Nay, a grin spreads from ear to ear. Yes, four decades after he kicked the bucket, his poetry dipped in humour and satire continues to bowl over audiences. Hyderabadis can look forward to yet another bout of laugh-a-minute `shayeri'.

The Sarwar Danda Memorial Society is organising the annual concert in memory of the famous poet on Saturday at Quli Qutb Shah stadium. As many as 33 poets from different parts of the country are arriving to enliven the occasion with their brand of `tanz-o-mizah' poetry. The stress will be on the typical Deccani tang, a genre pioneered by Sarwar Danda.

The very names of the poets invited to regale the audience are enough to make one break into a laugh. Rahat Hararat, Pagal Adilabadi, Halchal Hyderabadi, Khatpat Bhansvi, Mumtaz Pataka, Badruddin Badal, Chakkar Nizamabadi. However, Lateefuddin, who takes pains to hold the annual mushaira, feels the poetry of Sarwar Danda was a cut above the rest. The satire and wry humour in his verses is now difficult to come by.

Police ki diary mein

Dande ki shayeri mein

Na full stop, na coma

Sanjeeva Reddy mama.

That's Danda at his best. A keen observer, he had a swipe at everything around him. His verses tinged with barbs and sarcasm lampooned inefficient administration, corruption in high places and brought out the people's plight. To sample more of the same get ready this weekend.

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