Indian poet honoured in Oman

MUSCAT - Urdu poet Surender Bhutani, who is also an academic and journalist based in Poland, has been honoured by the Indian Social Association in Oman for his contribution to Urdu literature.

At a function organised at the Indian embassy auditorium Saturday, Anil Wadhwa, India’s ambassador to Oman, congratulated Bhutani for his new collection of poems, “Unwan Badlata Raha” (Title Keeps on Changing).

“Bhutani has achieved great success in Urdu literature in the past three decades. His present collection is a milestone in Urdu literature and he is maintaining the true tradition of sensitive and progressive poetry established by Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Sahir Ludhianavi,” Wadhwa said.

Bhutani, who by profession is an Arabist, has authored eight books on the Arab World. A visiting professor at the Polish Academcy of Sciences in Warsaw, he also writes for IANS.

Gajesh Dhariwal of Oman’s Indian Social Association said: “His poems are vivid reflections of human nature. His pain and passion are intermixed with a new diction and it is a voice of a new man who ascribes to the noblest thoughts of life.”

Inderneel Mukherji, a singer and composer from Delhi, enthralled the audience with songs and ghazals penned by Bhutani.

Bhutani was the first executive director of the Arab Cultural Centre in New Delhi.

His passion for Urdu poetry started at the age of 16 and he has produced six volumes of Urdu poetry. His poems have been translated into Polish, Romanian, Arabic, Hindi and Punjabi.