Hyderabad: Bringing out the poetry in women

Hyderabad: Behind every successful man, they say, is a woman. And behind a successful woman? A tribe of other successful women. This, at least, is the case with women Urdu writers in Hyderabad.

Mehfil-e-Khawateen, a literary organisation of women and by women has proved to be a catalyst for young writers to come to the fore. In its 48 years of existence, the Mehfil has succeeded in drawing out a huge untapped reservoir of talent among women.

“It has been an amazing journey. We started off with just five women in 1971 and today the Mehfil has 200 women on its rolls,” says its proud president Dr Habeeb Zia. Ahead of its annual conference on February 25, there is hectic activity at the Mehfil. Women writers are busy giving shape to the biennial souvenir, firming up the nitty-gritty of convention and selecting their best poems for the Sham-e-ghazal programme. It is time for the Mehfil to take stock of things and plan the future. The immediate task is to ensure participation of a broad spectrum of women.

The only organisation of its kind, the Mehfil’s biggest contribution is to make women Urdu writers, who are largely Muslims, come out of the closet. Female writers generally feel isolated and clueless. They all want to make it big and get recognition. But most of them are unsure about their writings. They don’t know whom to approach for guidance or how to get their works published.

“Once I joined Mehfil, I gained a lot of confidence and also got a few of my poems and short stories published,” says an excited Atiya Mujeeb Arafi, who teaches at the Government High School in Sultan Bazaar.

Gule Rana, an assistant professor with Telangana University who has authored a book on well-known humour writer Mujtaba Husain, concurs with this view. Over the years, many women have published novels, short stories and poems with the aid of the State Urdu Academy. Though it is an individual achievement, the inspiration and guidance provided by Mehfil can’t be glossed over.

“Women who never thought they could write have become authors,” says Prof Ashraf Rafi, who has 13 books to her credit.  What do they focus on? No, it is not just romance or women-specific issues. They pitch in for socially relevant themes like discrimination, poverty, safety besides national and international conflicts.

Women writers now have a sense of community. Mehfil provides them a platform to share personal experiences, stories and empower each other. “Senior writers guide and help the newcomers with their writing. We try to hone their skills and instil confidence,” says Zia, who has authored half a dozen books.

Some well-known writers associated with Mehfil include Qamar Jamali, Audesh Rani, Naseema Turabul Hassan, Tasneem Johar and Shabeena Farshori. Of late, it has also attracted multilingual poets like Elizabeth Kurian Mona and Sunita Lulla.

Mehfil holds its meetings on second Saturdays every month at the Urdu Hall in Himayatnagar. Though it boasts of 200 members not all are writers. Everyone, of course, has a strong passion for Urdu literature but only 25 to 30 of them are into writing poems and short stories. The inclusive forum, however, keeps sparking interest and emboldening women to wield the pen.

Bait Bazi, which is similar to Antakshari, is organised on a regular basis and this helps whet poetic skills. Also, mushairas and dholak-ke-geet are conducted to involve all women writers. Unfortunately, the Mehfil’s attempts to expand activities has hit a roadblock for want of resources. Operating on a shoe-string budget, it can’t think of broad-basing its programmes any further.