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By Mohammed Ayub Ali
Khan
Published
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 12:14:02 PM
Hyderabadi culture, in all its
dazzling glory, was in full display at the annual Mehfil-e-Hyderabad
gala event held on June 19, 2010 at the Versailles Convention Center
in Mississauga. There was music, authentic Hyderabadi food,
speeches, a raffle featuring round trip air tickets to Hyderabad
from Etihad Airways, and above all great company.
Organized by the Hyderabad Deccan
Foundation of Canada (HDFC), the event attracted more than 1200
people some of whom came from as far as Houston, Dallas, Chicago,
Detroit, New York, Cleveland, and Connecticut. This year’s event has
been widely acclaimed as the largest ever gathering of Hyderabadis
all over North America.
Attendees were greeted to a recording of the traditional Hyderabadi
shehnai and naubat. Emceed by Mr. Hyder Syed and Ms. Anjum Sayeed
the program began with a speech by HDFC president Mr. Bashir Beg. In
his remarks Mr. Beg highlighted the uniqueness of the
Hyderabadi culture. “We, Canadians of Hyderabadi origin, are
inheritors of a glorious past marked by communal harmony, artistic
innovation, linguistic dynamism and cultural vibrancy unparalleled
anywhere else in the world. It is a legacy of which anyone could be
proud of. It is this unique heritage which we want to maintain in
our adopted homeland and pass it on to our next generations.”
In this regard the Hyderabadi Deccan
Foundation of Canada has committed itself to build a Hyderabadi
community center in Canada, he informed. HDFC is on the lookout for
appropriate available spaces like vacant schools, churches, etc.
Once built the state of the centre will be the first of its kind
outside of India and will provide a host of services relevant to the
Hyderabadi culture.
Bonnie Crombie, Member of Parliament
from Mississauga-Streetsville, and Mississauga city councilors
Carolyn Parrish and George Carlson were the guests of honor at the
event. In her remarks Bonnie Crombie stated that she is delighted to
learn about the rich culture of Hyderabad and is happy to learn that
it has now become a part of the Canadian multicultural mosaic.
She praised the numerous contributions Hyderabadi Canadians have
made to Canada. Councilor Parrish donated $300 towards the
Hyderabadi community center. Councilor Carlson offered his help in
locating an appropriate space for the center.
Special greetings were presented on
behalf of Mr. Jason Kenney, Minister of Immigration. Prominent
Hyderabadis from Canada and America were honored for their
contributions in diverse fields. The honorees for this year were:
Haroon Siddiqui(Journalism), Dr. Taqi Abedi (Literature), Karam Ali
Khan (Business), Siddiq Burney (Community Service), and Mirza
Pervaiz Baig (Social Networking). Mrs. Bonnie Crombie also
presented certificates of appreciation for Mr. Bashir Beg, Mr. Javid
Raza, and Mr. Mohammed Ayub Khan. Dr. Taqi Abedi in his gripping
lecture spoke on the more than 400 year old history of Hyderabad. He
said the multicultural character of Hyderabad should serve as an
example for diverse societies.
The main highlight of the event was
the musical program featuring the sensational singer Mr. Javid Raza
from Connecticut and other local talent. This part of program was
organized by Mr. Rafat Alam and emceed by Mr. Zaki Ahsan. Widely
praised as the ‘Voice of Rafi,’ Javid Raza lived up to the
expectations with his enthralling performance. His performance
included variety of songs from the classical ghazal of Bahadur Shah
Zafar to the more contemporary
from the age of Rafi.
Toronto area artistes Rafat Alam, Naqi
Bilgrami, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Rahmat Khan, Tahera Ali, also put
up a spectacular performance. Live music was provided by
Nadeem Ali and his Avengers Group. Ms. Dilrus presented a bouquet of
ragas on the sitar. Mr. Zaki Ahsan’s role as the emcee of the
musical program was peppered with his frequent jokes leaving the
audience in splits.
The enchanting performances continued
until 3 am with the audience present in rapt attention. As part of
the raffle winners received various items including two round trip
tickets to Hyderabad generously donated by Etihad Airways. A colourful event souvenir with rare pictures and interesting articles
on Hyderabad was also well appreciated by all.
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