By IANSlife

February 25, 2023 (IANSlife) On the first day of the festival, Sahitya Kala Parishad, the art and culture department of the Delhi Government, which promotes different forms of Indian art and culture, saw a record-breaking number of attendees. The two-day gathering took place in the L.T.G Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, Mandi House.

During the two-day event, audience members enjoyed soulful ghazals and renowned artists. Suman Devgan, a versatile artist, gave the opening act. She performed the Raza Amrohvi composition "Halke halke suro main Ghazal chediye," Bashir Badr's "Maan mausam ka kaha," Akhter's "Dil to kehta hai ke shikva kijiye," Rifat Sarosh's "Shehre zindagi tanha," and Ghulam Rabbani Taban's "Manzil These poems were given a melodious, resonant quality by Suman Devgan.

The evening continued with another soul touching presentation by Poonam Chauhan. Known for her Semi classical (thumri Dadra) and light music (ghazal), Poonam sang a selection of lovely ghazals. Beginning with Iqbal Aleem's 'Kuchh aise zakhm bhi darparda,' Parveen Shakir's 'Ik hunar tha kamaal tha kya tha,' and Mirza Ghalib's 'Ye hum jo hijr mein. She then sang 'Bikhre bikhre sahme sahme' by Meraj Faizabadi, 'Kabhi kaha na kisi se' by Qamar Jalalvi, and 'Muhabbat karne wale kum na honge' by Hafeez hoshiyarpuri.The audience were treated with many more ghazals in Poonam’s voice like ‘Salona sa sajan hai aur main hun, ‘Niyat-e-shauq bhar na jaye’ by Nasir Kazmi, ‘Aie muhabbat tere anjam pe’ by Shakeel Badayuni, ‘Naseem-e-subh gulshan’ by Seemab Akbarabadi, ‘Dil dharakney ka sabab by Nasir Kazmi and ‘Kab tak dil ki khair manayein’ by Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Sharing her views Dr. Monica Priyadarshini, Secretary, Sahitya Kala Parishad said, "We are striving to organise all the festivals that would introduce the Delhities to all the cultural intricacies of our Indian heritage. With all these cultural events, we bring together both young and established performers. Ghazal Festival is one such small attempt to make ghazal fans' evenings more soothing and lyrical. Ghazal is an ancient genre of poetry that beautifully depicts spirituality and romance. This festival  brought serenity to one’s mind.”

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