On August 30th, the K L Saigal Hall in Jammu played host to a Multilingual Mushiara in honour of the late Urdu and Kashmiri poet Ghulam Rasool Kamgar (Kishtwari).
In 1888, Kishtwar welcomed the birth of Kawaja Ghulam Rasool Kamgar. His mentor Maulana Saifullah taught him Persian, Arabic, Urdu, and mathematics and encouraged him to write both prose and poetry. Through his research, he enriched Kashmiri literature by incorporating traditional Arabic and Persian writing. Robes of Honour (J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages) and Robes of Honour (Riasti Cultural Sangam J&K) are only two of the numerous honorary garments bestowed upon him. The President of India also presented him with a Certificate of Merit in Persian. Among his many works is a translation of Baba Daud Khaki’s Vird-ul-Muridin into Urdu(Verse), as well as translations of Rishi Nama Lamia and Ramooz-e-Bekhudi into Kashmiri(Verse) and AllamaIqbal’s Moulood-e-Berzenji and Chel Hadees into Kashmiri(Verse) and Armagan-e-M That’s right, Naatia Kalam.
At the outset, Bharat Singh, Secretary of the JKAACL, extended a warm welcome to all of the invited guests and officials. He welcomed everyone and said that remembering the great personalities of J&K, and of Kishtwar in particular, was the driving force behind the event. Reading about the lives and times of such remarkable people, he remarked, is a terrific way to educate oneself.
B N Betab presided over the event, and the principal guest was Professor Shohab Anayat Malik. The honoured guest was a man named Khalid Hussain. The literary contributions of the late Kamgar Kisitawari were the subject of a paper delivered by Wali Mohammad Aseer Kishtawari.
After the opening remarks, the Multilingual Mushaira started, including readings by renowned poets and authors in a variety of languages.
