12th Mohan Lal Bhaskar Art and Theatre Festival held at Ferozepur
Event organized in the memory of former Indian spy in Pakistan Mohan Lal Bhaskar
12th Mohan Lal Bhaskar Art and Theatre Festival held at Ferozepur
Ferozepur, December 1, 2016: The Audience was enthralled at All India Mushaira, the prime feature of the 12th Mohan Lal Bhaskar Art and Theatre Festival held on Wednesday night at Ferozepur.
The event attained new heights of success with the presence of eminent Punjabi poet Surjeet Patar. His very presence aroused a different sense of enthusiasm amongst the audience filled with thirst for poetry.
The arena was packed with distinguished guests hailing from different regions and different spheres ranging from judiciary to bureaucrats and from military to youth groups.
Arpit Shukla, Police commissioner, Jalandhar who is also patron of MLB Foundation, Major General Vijay Pingle, V.K.Meena, divisional commissioner Ferozepur and Faridkot, S.K.Aggarwal, district and session judge, Ferozepur, Brig. Narinder Singh Kadiyan, deputy general officer in command, Golden Arrow Division, Brig. H.S.Jaggi, S.Z.Khan, senior commandant Railway Police Force, Ferozepur division, Vineet Kumar, ADC(G), Ferozpeur, Rakesh Mittal and H.S.Grewal, duo additional district and session judge, Ferozepur, J.K.Jain, Excise Commissioner, Ludhiana and Amit Sharma, Editor Dainik Jagran graced the occasion.
Shruti Shukla, on behalf of MLB foundation welcomed all the guests in the event while H.K.Gupta, gave vote of thanks.
The stage was further graced by a galaxy of Urdu poets including Janab Rahat Indori, Indore, Janab Khushbeer Singh Shaad, jalandhar, Janam Fehmi Badauni, Bdaun, Janaab Alatmush Abbaas, Rourki, Janaab Mukesh Aalam, Ludhiana, Janab Zubair Ali Tabish, Jalgaon, Janab Abrar Kashif, Amravati, Janab Musawaar Ferozepuri, Chandigarh, Janab Saleem Ansari, Jabalpur, Janab Naeem Akhtar, Deoband, Janab Tarkash Pardeep, New Delhi and Janab Iqbal Azar, Dehradun.
All the poets bound the audience with their amazing couplets.
Rahat Indori, through his magical couplets stole the show and received a standing ovation. Rahat, had bestowed numerous awards including Houston City Council, Houston USA, Honour from Embassy of India, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jung News Paper Publications, Karachi, Pakistan, Honour from Gehwara E Adab, Atlanta, USA, Farogh E Urdu Adab Award – Kuwait, Shayar E Mehfil Award – Anjuman Farogh E Urdu Adab, Kuwait. Some of his best couplets were:
“Log har mod par ruk ruk kare sambhalte kyun hain,
Itna darte hain toh ghar se nikalte kyun hain”
“Shaakhon se toot jaayein vo patte nahin hain hum
Aandhi se koi kehdo ki aukaat mein rahe.”
The beauty of the evening was not only just Urdu poetry. But carrying on the legacy of the motto of the Mohan Lal Bhaskar Foundation, by honouring the eminent personalities of the region including Surjit Pattar with MLB Lifetime Achievement Award (Literature), Dr. Harbhajan Awla with MLB Lifetime Achievement Award (social work), Dr.Baldev Singh Aulakh MLB Award (Humanity) Dr. Kamal Baghi with MLB Award (medical services), Jaswant Singh Jass MLB Award (social work).
The event was organised in the memory of former Indian spy in Pakistan, Mohan Lal Bhaskar, who, while working as an agent with Indian security agencies, intruded into Pakistan sixteen times, but was held on the 17th as a double-cross agent ditched him. He was awarded death sentence by a Pakistani court, but the higher court reduced it to fourteen years of imprisonment and he was repatriated under the Shimla agreement on December 9, 1974.
Later on, he narrated his experience in various jails of Pakistan in an autobiography `Under the Shadow of Bayonets and Bars’ which was awarded Saansad Sri Kant Verma National Award in 1989. The book was published in ten languages.
