Aligarh: There are some faces in the world of Urdu literature who are recognized not only by their education or position, but by the fragrance of their pen. Aftab Alam Najmi, Assistant Professor, Shoba-e-Urdu, AMU, is also one of those few names, in whose veins poetry has been running not just as a skill but as a heritage. Nana, Valda and now Aftab Saheb, this literary tradition, which has been going on for three generations, is as alive today as it was in the era of old monthly journals and children’s magazines.
Aftab Alam Najmi, famous for poetry, poetry and bold realistic stories, is not only creating new ground for literature but also explains the cultural reality of Qawwali and Mushaira very beautifully. He told that the hobby he acquired for poetry and storytelling is the third continuation of his family heritage. His maternal grandfather was a poet and storyteller. His mother was also an excellent poetess, who along with poetry, wrote many important novels and stories on children’s etiquette, which were published in the monthly journals and children’s magazines of that time.
According to Aftab Alam, this environment inclined him towards writing since childhood. At the age of seven, when his poetry and short stories written in a broken language reached people, he got encouragement. After this, he started writing regularly and gradually established an identity especially for songs, poems and stories based on bold-dark realities. He said that it has always been his endeavor to express openly those issues of the society on which people hesitate to write.
Talking on Qawwali, Aftab Alam Najmi said that ‘Qawwali’ is derived from the Arabic word ‘Kaul’, which means to say or narrate. The real meaning of Qawwali is to repeat a phrase again and again with tunes. When you listen to Qawwali, the same lines and phrases are repeated many times. The practice of Qawwali is believed to be from the time of Amir Khusro. In Chishti Silsila, there was a tradition of Mehfil-e-Sama, where tunes and kalams describing Ishq-e-Ilahi were presented.
Great Sufis like Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Rahmatullah Alaih also had a deep attachment to it. Qawwali has always been a living tradition presented with music, tune and many voices.
difference between qawwali and mushaira
Aftab Alam explains that Qawwali is a musical way of presenting poetry, whereas Mushaira is a gathering for reading poetry. Ghazals and poems are not sung in Mushaira, but are read in accent. There is no instrument, raga, harmonium or rhythm of applause in it. Whereas, Qawwali requires a separate stage, Sazinde, Qawwal and chorus. In Mushaira, poets are free from the lines, there the presentation of Kalam is most important. There may be both at some places, but the tradition, style and purpose of both are completely different.
