The 23rd Safdar Hashmi Memorial was organised at the Constitution Club Lawns, Rafi Marg recently and saw a string of acclaimed musicians like Shubha Mudgal, Rabbi Shergill, Astad Deboo, JFK, Jasbir Jassi, Madan Gopal Singh, Shabnam Virmani, Bigul and Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti and Gundecha Brothers perform.
Sohail Hashmi, scholar and brother of the late writer said on the occasion, “It was on January 1, 1989 that Safdar and the actors of Jan Natya Manch were attacked by political goons while performing a street play in Sahibabad. Safdar’s death, a day later, led to nationwide protests and the subsequent formation of Sahmat (The Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust).”
The performance also included a tribute to Rabindra Nath Tagore on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary. The celebrated dancer Asad Deboo presented a work based on a poem by Tagore titled Interpreting Tagore.
The event also included a celebration of the birth centenaries of legendary Hindi-Urdu poets and writers--Nagarjun, Kedarnath Agarwal and Shamsher Bahadur Singh. All three began writing in the period when the struggle for freedom was gathering strength and became a part of the Leftist movement.
The poetry of all three was presented by Shubha Mudgal who also sang the poetry of Faiz Ahmed. The fusion rock band JKF sang the Maithili poetry of Nagarjun, while the poetry of Kabir Das and other Sufi writers was presented by Shabnam Virmani, Jaspal Jassi, Rabbi and Madan Gopal Singh.
Singer Shubha Mudgal said, “I’ve been coming here (Safdar memorial) since 1991. The truth is that my repertoire of music is completely inspired by the Progressive Writers’ Movement and the poetry that my friends in Sahmat introduced me to. Over the years, they have asked me to lend music to writings of Faiz, Ibn-e-Inshah, Bulle Shah, Majrooh Sultanpuri and others.” She further added, “I enjoy listening to them and singing them. It is very sad that we are not listening to them anymore. Their writings hold as much relevance in today’s age as it was then before independence.”
Two books: Hussain Hamara Hai (edited by Rajendra Sharma) and Rashtriya Andolan (essays by Irfan Habib) were released on this occasion. A calendar for the new year paying tribute to M F Hussain, who passed away earlier last year was also made available for sale.