DUBAI: Dubai witnessed an enthralling evening of poetry and literary brilliance at the Grand International Mushaira, organised by Applause Adab.
This year’s mushaira, the second in a series of annual community engagement events, was jointly presented by Sharaf Exchange and HBL.
In his opening address, the Sharaf Exchange CEO warmly welcomed the audience and emphasised HBL and Sharaf Exchange’s commitment to contributing to social, cultural, and community events for the Indian and Pakistani communities in the UAE.
The event was a masterclass in organisation and planning, leaving many attendees impressed with the meticulous execution. 
Renowned Geo anchor, newscaster, and poet Wajih Sani infused extra energy into the evening with his charismatic hosting.
Esteemed poet Iftikhar Arif chaired the session as the president and was greeted with enthusiasm by a fascinated audience.
Wasi Shah, a celebrated poet, drama writer, and TV anchor who has recently taken charge of Pakistan’s Ministry of State for Tourism, fascinated the audience with his thought-provoking and melodious poetry.
Known as Pakistan’s post-romantic poet in the early ’90s, many attendees requested his classical poems, and he received an overwhelming response.
Khalid Irfan, a humorous poet, changed the mood of the evening, filling the atmosphere with laughter and joy. Having spent 20 years in the USA before recently relocating to Karachi, Khalid brought a unique perspective with his poetry to the event.
Among the youth, Ammar Iqbal received high praise from the audience for his poetic brilliance.
The audience’s engagement played a vital role throughout the mushaira. Traditionally, audiences appreciated phrases or stanzas they liked with applause and enthusiastic “wah, wahs”. While older traditions discouraged applause during mushairas, modern trends have embraced it as a way to show appreciation for the poets. This change was reflected in the event’s name, ‘Applause Adab’.
The event was graced by luminary poets such as Abbas Tabish, Nadeem Bhabha, Wajih Sani, Aziz Nabeel, Jyoti Azad, Aisha Ayub, Khalid Irfan, Syed Anser, Amardeep Singh and Atif Rais.
Alok Shri Vastu, Farah Sarosh, Dr A Abdullah and Himanshu Bajpai were among the special guests.
This grand mushaira was generously sponsored by HBL and Sharaf Exchange, representing a heartfelt gift to the Urdu-loving community residing in Dubai.
