Doha: The Majlis-e-Frogh-e-Urdu Adab is set to honour India’s Naseeruddin Shah with a special Frogh-e-Urdu Adab Award during the annual awards ceremony to be held on November 7 at Sheraton’s Salwa Hall.
The Qatar-based literary forum will also present India’s Shamoil Ahmad and Pakistan’s Ata ul Haq Qasmi with the 16th annual Aalmi Frogh-e-Urdu Adab awards.
“The special award is being given to Naseeruddin Shah in recognition of his contribution to Urdu literature and poetry. Shah is coming to receive this award with his wife, Ratna Pathak Shah,” Majlis Chairman, Mohammad Atiq, said.
The Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, H E Dr Hamad Abdulaziz Al Kuwari will be the chief guest of the ceremony.
Launched in 1996, the Aalmi Frogh-e-Urdu Adab Award presents a gold shield and cash award of Rs150,000 annually to two Urdu creative writers and scholars- one from India and the other from Pakistan - for promoting Urdu language and literature.
After the Awards presentation, a Mushaira (Urdu poetry recitation) will be held.
The event will see about two dozen Urdu poets, writers and scholars from India, Pakistan and Australia converge in Doha.
The Mushaira will be presided over by Pakistani poet and scholar, Dr Khurshid Rizvi, along with India’s noted scholar and former Chairman of Sahitya Academy, Dr Gopi Chand Narang.
The 2012 awards were determined by two independent juries headed by Mushtaq Ahmed Khan Yousufi and Prof Dr Gopi Chand Narang.
The previous award winners from Pakistan have included Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Ashfaq Ahmed, Intezar Hussain, Mukhtar Masood, Bano Qudsia, Mohammad Khalid Akhter, Shaukat Siddiqui, Mustansar Hussain Tara, Abdullah Hussain, Hajra Masroor, Asad Mohammad Khan, Mohammad Mansha Yaad, Dr. Jamil Jalibi, Masood Mufti and Syed Mohammad Kazim.
The winners from India have included Aale Ahmed Saroor, Quratul Ain Haider, Jeelani Bano, Kali Das Gupta Raza, Joginder Paul, Surrender Parkash, Dr. Gopi Chand Narang, Salahuddin Pervez, Prof Nisar Ahmed Farooqui, Qazi Abdul Sattar, Dr Mughni Tabassum, Prof. Waris Alvi, Prof Dr. Syeda Jaffer, Rattan Singh and Gulzar.
The guest poets from India this year are Munawwar Rana, Rais Ansari, Iqbal Ashhar and Dr Nuzhat Anjum, while Dr Khurshid Rizvi, Ata ul Haq Qasmi, Aslam Kaulsari, Sarfaraz Shahid, Rakhshanda Naveed and Saleem Fauz have been invited from Pakistan.
Other poets this year include Mohamed Ali, Fartash Syed, Syed Zawwar Hussain Zair, Ahfaq Ahmed Qalaq, Salahuddin and Daud Ahmed.
Entry to the Sheraton’s Salwa Hall will be on invitation cards, which can be obtained from Shezan Hotel reception from November 4.
The Peninsula
