Hamari Urdu Mohabbat (HUM) presents a musical narrative on the life of Gandhi

Members of Hamari Urdu Mohabbat during a performance
| Photo Credit: special arrangement

Tributes to Mahatma Gandhi come in various forms, often involving the bhajans he enjoyed and the principles he stood for. Gandhi Jayanti will be celebrated this year by Hamari Urdu Mohabbat (HUM) with an hour-long program Peer Parayi Jaane Re, which combines poetry, music (sufi songs and ghazals), and commentary honouring Gandhi, his work, and Urdu, a language that was dear to him.

Lokesh Jain, Syeda Hameed and Rene Singh
| Photo Credit:
special arrangement

The show is organised by the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh chapters of the Sarvodaya International Trust. Aruna Bahuguna — secretary of the Trust and former IPS officer—says, “Sarvodaya Trust, an All-India organisation, was formed to spread the ideals and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. We try to reach out to students and youth all year long through different programmes. Every Gandhi Jayanti, we commemorate Gandhi’s life in some way. This year, we have the Hamari Urdu Mohabbat group presenting a story using poetry, music, and commentary.”

Journey to the fore

Syeda Hameed
| Photo Credit:
special arrangement

Hamari Urdu Mohabbat is a Delhi-based group conceived by Begum Zakia Zaheer to bring together Urdu lovers on a literary forum. Peer Parayi Jaane Re features three performers – Syeda Hameed, sufi singer Rene Singh, and theatre artist Lokesh Jain. “The narrative brings Gandhi’s journey to the fore through poetry, passages of prose, little excerpts of his speeches, through songs and recitation,” says Syeda Hameed.

Breaking language barrier

Rene Singh
| Photo Credit:
special arrangement

Besides featuring poetry by well-known poets such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a significant part of the show features classic poems by poets who wrote in Urdu and were not Muslims. One such poet is Tilok Chand Mehroom. “Tilok Chand’s poetic name ‘mehroom’ means ‘one who’s humble’ and he wrote the most beautiful Urdu poetry about Gandhi. This completely negates the language barrier created between Urdu and Hindi. And Gandhi wanted it that way,” says Syeda and adds, “We are kind of blurring these boundaries”

She recalls that Mahatma Gandhi had asked Maulvi Abdul Haq where he could learn Urdu and was advised to read Hali’s (Altaf Hussain Hali) poetry. “Hali wrote in 1874 about the empowerment of women, how women are never given the status and the rights in any religion, including Islam. Speaking of Hindu-Muslim unity, Hali had said, “For the welfare of your country, you have to regard yourself first as a human family.”

The programme begins with ‘Purab se surya jag taara’, a musical rendering followed by snippets on Gandhi. The group also presents bhajan ‘Vaishnav Jan To’, ‘Awwal Allah Noor Upaaya’, a shabad gurbani and the poem ‘Jagao na Bapu ko neend aa gayi’ by Shameen Karhani. “This unique experience is a tribute to Gandhi through music and verse.”

Peer Parayi Jaane Re, a musical narrative on the life of Gandhi, will be held at Ashaina Conference and Banquet Centre in Banjara Hills on October 1, 5pm onwards.