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Dastango Himanshu Bajpai sharing cultural nuggets
Lucknow: Poetry and real-life incidents from the life of 18th-century Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir came alive at Lucknow Museum Heritage and Art on Tuesday. Titled ‘Harf’, it was presented by Koshala Literature Festival and LMHA.Founder of Microlit, Ajay Jain, and storyteller, author and dastango Himanshu Bajpai Lakhnavi brought together perspectives from cultural heritage, literature and oral storytelling. The speakers explored Mir’s poetry, ghazals and association with Lucknow.Himanshu said, “Mir, popularly as ‘Khuda-e-Sukhan’ (god of muse), spent final decades of his life in Lucknow after arriving at the court of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daulah in 1782. His years in the city coincided with Lucknow’s emergence as a major centre of Urdu literary culture and patronage. Mir died in Lucknow in 1810, leaving behind a body of work that occupies a central place in Urdu literature.”Jain shed light on lesser-known facets of Mir’s life and verse and spoke about why his poetry continues to resonate with contemporary readers. An extended question-and-answer session saw enthusiastic participation from the audience, with discussions ranging from Mir and Urdu poetry to Lucknow’s rich literary inheritance.Himanshu said, “Some of Mir’s famous works are ‘Kulliyat-e-Meer’, ‘Deewan-e-Meer’ and ‘Darya-e-Ishq’. The way Mir has portrayed love and separation, no other poet has. He has a unique depth, longing, hopelessness and tragedy in his love poetry.”‘Harf’ is part of the build-up to the fifth Koshala Literature Festival, scheduled to be held from Nov 27 to 30 at LMHA.
