MLBF hosts inspiring 21st Mushaira, echoes message of ‘Respect the Elders’
Honour two personalities with Lifetime Achievement & Literary Awards 2025
Ferozepur, November 30, 2025: The 21st All India Mushaira, organised by the Mohan Lal Bhaskar Foundation in the sacred memory of Shri Mohan Lal Bhaskar, emerged as a powerful platform to spread the message “Respect the Elders” across society. Poets arriving from all over the country mesmerised the audience with soul-touching poetry and transformed the Saturday evening into a cultural inspiration, becoming an appeal to strengthen dignity and mutual respect among generations.
While giving detailed information, Dr. S N Rudra, Vice President, Mohan Lal Bhaskar Foundation, informed that the program began with the lighting of the lamp before the portrait of Shri Mohan Lal Bhaskar by Prabha Bhaskar, Chief Patron, MLB Foundation; Arpit Shukla, DGP Punjab Law & Order and Patron, MLB Foundation; M F Farooqi, ADGP Punjab and Chairman, Advisory Board, MLB Foundation and Founder of Urdu Adda; Dr. Shruti Shukla; and Sagar Setia, Deputy Commissioner, Moga.
On this occasion, several distinguished personalities were also present: Major General R.S. Manral, GOC, Golden Arrow Division; Mohinder Lal, Officiating DIG, BSF, Ferozepur; Bhupinder Singh Sidhu, SSP, Ferozepur; Karan Sharma, DSP, Rural; Sushil Mittal, M D, Bhagwati Lacto Pvt. Ltd.; Varinder Mohan Singhal, CA and Chairman, Genesis Institute of Dental Sciences & Research; Dr Anil Baghi; Colonel Sartaj Saini; Colonel Sunil, Deputy Commander, 48 Infantry Brigade; Prabhat, AC, BSF; Vikram Sharma and Amit Sharma, Editor, Dainik Jagran.
In his address, Arpit Shukla stated, “The greatest need today is to inspire society in accordance with the spirit of the Mohan Lal Bhaskar Foundation and to carry forward the message of respecting the elders, so that our social structure remains strong and our communities continue to progress with prosperity and justice.”
Dr Gaurav Sagar Bhaskar, General Secretary of the Mohan Lal Bhaskar Foundation and Chairman of Vivekananda World School, warmly welcomed all guests while recalling the glorious 21-year journey of the Mushaira.
On this occasion, Sant Baba Gurnam Singh Ji (Drauli Bhai, Moga) was honoured with the MLB Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 for his exceptional humanitarian contributions—from flood relief services to blood donation camps and medical service initiatives. Renowned theatre artist Anita Shabdish was felicitated with the MLB Literary Excellence Award 2025 for her remarkable achievements in art and theatre, from acting to production.
The Mushaira began with the verses of Janab M F Farooqi —
"Ghar jo barna ho rishwat se bhi bhar jata hai,
Haan magar is se duāon ka asar jata hai"
— which compelled the audience to applaud, followed by an emotional poem by Mohtarma Shruti Shukla, presenting the circumstances of a daughter after her father’s demise, leaving the audience teary-eyed.
Thereafter, the performances of other poets also captivated the entire gathering. Among them, the poetry of Janab Mahshar Afridi from Mumbai enchanted the audience:
“Aayega guftagu ka saleeka to kam se kam
Shayar bahut zaroori hai ek khandan mein
Rehta hai sirf ek hi kamre mein aadmi
Uska gurur rehta hai baaki makaan mein”
The artistry of Janab Tabrez Rana, son of the late world-renowned Urdu poet Janab Munawwar Rana from Lucknow, also moved everyone:
“Hai mujhko dard kitna ye kaha huliya batata hai,
Yateemi mujhpe ghalib hai mera chehra batata hai
Mere walid mere andar zinda hain log kehte hain
Main jab bhi baat karta hoon mera lehja batata hai.”
Young poetess Himanshi Babra from Meerut impressed the gathering with her beautiful lines:
“Aankh ko aaina samajhte ho
Aks ko jaane kya samajhte ho
Dost ab kyon nahi samajhte
Tum tum to kehte the na samajhte ho”
Young poet Chirag Sharma from Chindosi elevated the gathering with his mesmerising nazm:
“Dost ab kyon nahi samajhte tum
Tum to kehte the na samajhte ho
Ab ke mili shikast meri aur se mujhe
Jitva diya gaya kisi kamzor se mujhe”
From Patiala, poet Amardeep Singh left the audience spellbound with his lines:
“Woh saaf-go hai magar baat ka hunar seekhe
Badan haseen hai to kya belibaas aayega”
From Jaipur, poet Ibrahim Zeeshan captivated the audience with his soulful nazm:
“Hum ek roz usko bhulane nikal gaye
Jab aaye lautkar to zamane nikal gaye
Ek shakhs ja raha tha hamari zameen se
Hum aasmaan sar pe uthane nikal gaye”
Famous poet Rajesh Mohan from Faridkot also left a deep impression:
“Sab logon ko lagta hai ki main unko paigam likhun,
Aur mujhko yeh lagta hai ki duniya mera khayal kare,
Apne dil mein jo bhi aaye jisse marzi poochhen hum,
Aur aage se yeh bhi chahen koi na humein sawaal kare.”
Dr Narinder Bhargav, former DIG and Senior Vice President of the MLBF Advisory Board, while delivering the vote of thanks, expressed heartfelt gratitude to all dignitaries, respected poets, and the audience. He also expressed hope for their valuable support in future events.
It is noteworthy that this program, like every year, was organised in memory of Late Mohan Lal Bhaskar, a great patriot, national award winner, poet, writer, educationist, and filmmaker. He successfully entered Pakistan sixteen times while working for Indian security agencies, but during the seventeenth infiltration, he was arrested due to the betrayal of a double agent. He was sentenced to death by a Pakistani court, but due to the Shimla Agreement and the efforts of Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan, he returned to India on 9 December 1974.
His famous book “Main Pakistan Mein Bharat Ka Jasoos”, which describes the brutalities and torture faced in Pakistani prisons, received the Shrikant Verma National Award for Literature in 1989, and has been published in ten languages.
To make this program successful, contributions were made by MLB members — Dr. Harsh Bhola, Dr. Naresh Khanna, Jhalkeshwar Bhaskar, Mehar Singh Mal, Amarjeet Singh Bhogal, Aman Deora, Ajay Tuli, Santokh Singh Sandhu, Shalinder Bhalla, Charanjit Sharma, Rakesh Sharma, Kamal Dravid, Vikram Sharma, Surinder Goyal besided Paramveer Sharma, Shipra Arora (V P Academic), Mahima Kapoor (V P Admin), Sonia Aggarwal, Sapan Vats, Darshan Singh Sidhu, Sarabjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Palwinder singh, Gursharan Singh and Deepak Singla from Vivekananda World School.