Shillong: It was an unusual evening as a very eclectic group of Shillongites gathered at the Umshyrpi College auditorium for a conversation on, “Meena Kumari, the Poet” organised jointly by The Thumb Print a web-based journal edited by Teresa Rehman and Daisy Hasan whose essay figures in the book.
The proud host for the function was former Minister, Government of Meghalaya, Sayeedullah Nongrum, who is also President, Board of Governors, Umshyrpi College.
Meena Kumari’s poems in Urdu have been painstakingly translated into English by Prof. Noorul Hasan former Professor of English, NEHU. Prof Hasan has succeeded in drawing out the pathos and the sensual – an emotional mix that made Meena Kumari an unforgettable delight and provided non-Urdu speaking readers an insight into the mind of India’s tragedy queen as she was known.
Verses were read out from the book, both in English and Urdu. Renee Lulam recited from the translated version while Rosemary Ishorari rendered the Urdu version in her delightfully lilting voice. Prof Noorul Hasan also read some verses from his own translation while Sayeedullah Nongrum recited verses galore from Iqbal’s poetry.
Shillong icon, the legendary Lou Majaw, sang an ode to Meena Kumari. The song titled Beautiful, was rendered with such a soulful finesse that it brought tears to many an eye. Fr. John, former Head of Mass Communication, St. Anthony’s College recited a painful while Munish Singh, Director of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations sang a song from Pakeezah. Former DGP, Meghalaya, W.R. Marbaniang also recited his poems based on the present Middle East crises.
Daisy Hasan whose introductory essay along with Philip Bounds figures in the book, gave a brief account of Meena Kumari’s poetry which she says, “can be read as a barbed critique of Indian popular culture.” For Daisy, born and brought up in Shillong, and now based out of UK, it was a homecoming of a different kind as she launched her father’s translation to the poetry lovers of Shillong.
Teresa Rehman, editor, The Thumb Print said that although she runs a web journal, the idea of a real life rather than a virtual conversation was very appealing. “Similar conversations were organised at Guwahati too and it drew a good crowd,” Teresa told this correspondent, adding that it was so much fun to get together and spend some time reading poetry together.
Several books of Meena Kumari: The Poet were sold along the sidelines of the conversation. What made the evening quite extraordinary were the songs from Meena Kumari’s films sung by members of the audience. What was intended to be a conversation turned out into a mehfil.