Iqbal Farooqui and Azhar Hashmi Sabqat enthrals Dilli Wala on Yamuna Bank
New Delhi: Café Karvaan and Zimisha Communications organised Karvaan-e- Adab, an evening to revisit the household tradition of baithak and soak in the old world charm of mehfil at the newly opened café in New Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. In the inaugural edition of Karvaan –e-Adab, ghazal singer Iqbal Farooqui and Poet Azhar Hashmi ‘Sabqat’ enthralled the audiences with their performance on the weekend.
Karvaan-e-Adab is an initiative by Café Karvaan to promote art and culture in its vibrant small and cosy space. Delhi having a diverse population holds within itself people from various backgrounds having a passion for various art forms. The initiative aims to give such people a platform to create and collaborate on art and literature.
The event this Saturday started with Azhar Hashmi‘Sabqat’ reciting his thoughtful ghazals. His ghazals are full of love, brotherhood, unity, solitude, relationships, friendship, and represents a progressive social outlook. Hailing from Munger, Bihar, he is an engineer by profession and has recited at various Mushaira across the country. His detailed Work can be seen at Rekhta – https://www.rekhta.org/poets/azhar-hashmi
Azhar Hashmi’s ‘Sabqat’ set the tone for the evening by reciting his beautiful ghazals, and there on passing the mike to Iqbal Farooqui who mesmerized the audience with a soulful rendition of ghazals which were originally sung by Jagjit Singh. With his uncanny way of holding the guitar back to front and tapping to create beats, Iqbal Farooqui sang various ghazals and drew wide applauds from the audience. Presently a journalist, Iqbal was often referred to as a clone to Jagjit Singh in his student days at the Aligarh Muslim University. His rendition of Ghazals like Zindagi Tune Lahoo Leke Diya Kuch Bhi Nahin, Yaad Nahin Kya Kya Dekha ‘Main Nashe Mein Hoon’ left the audience wanting for more.
Asad Ashraf, founder of the café said “The idea was to create a cultural space; space where artists, writers, intellectuals, and everyone else can meet, discuss, and create. He said the aesthetic of the place was created by his wife Asma Rafat, who is also the founder of the café.”
The scenic view of the Yamuna from its terrace and the aesthetic appeal of the café along with an immense collection of books on various genres and portraits of artists are soul-soothing for people having literary interests.