COQUITLAM – It was in the moon-lit evening of Saturday September 10 when Captain Suleman Mahtab and his family arranged the 5th annual “Open-Air and Open to All” Urdu Mushaira in the scenic backyard of their house in Coquitlam. Over 200 enthusiastic local people, including some who travelled as far as Kelowna and Nanaimo, thoroughly enjoyed a magnificent and splendid evening of grace, tranquility and class. The evening was very enchanting with excellent décor, wonderful weather and the full moon shining in the background. This was an unmatched event of class and beauty. The delicious cooking and hospitality of entire Mahtab family was shone throughout the evening. The family was regarded as a unique family in the Lower Mainland in hosting such events and programs to promote peace, friendship and mutual respect among local communities particularly between Indians and Pakistanis.
At the start, the departed souls of our friends were remembered by observing silence for a minute. A number of recognized poets presented their beautiful poetry and some in their melodious and charismatic voices. The list of poets included Captain Suleman Mahtab, Ismael Asar, Hafiz Qadri, Dr. Hafizur Rehman, Jeevan Rampuri, Mohammad Fazil, Jeetandra Kumar, Nusrat Hussain, Nadeem Parmar and Narinder Bhagi Barham. The latter two presided the two sessions of poetry. Naeem Lakhan and Ismael Asar conducted the sessions in their entertaining & refreshing yet eloquent styles.
