Aligarh: The students and faculty members at the Department of Urdu at Aligarh Muslim University gathered at a year-end literary programme and presented their literary works in prose and poetry to develop in students a creative and critical aptitude and involve them in extracurricular activities of the department.

Addressing the occasion, the Chairperson of the department Prof Quamrul Hooda Faridi stated that literature invigorates our lives, serving as a mirror of our inner selves and society. It encapsulates our past, present and future and helps authors craft a world of emotion through language.

He said life is a journey, and ceasing an educational pursuit for a literature student should not end the creative journey. Rather, as the custodians of literary legacy, students should nurture it further and transfer it to the next generation of learners with the potential to significantly advance it.

Prof Shahabuddin Saquib, a special guest, recited his poetry, lauded students’ presentations, and urged them to continue their pursuits with unwavering determination.

Dr Aftab Alam Najmi highlighted the academic and literary efforts made by the students and faculty members of the Faculty of Arts, which includes several language departments.

Dr Moidur Rehman presented a paper, titled, ‘A Postcolonial Study of Iqbal's Poems in the Light of Bang-e-Dara’, while students, Mehwish Abrar and Safia Layal, presented a short story, ‘Intezar’. Farheen Shakeel, a research scholar, presented a paper, titled, ‘Aur bhi dukh hain zamaane mein muhabbat ke siwa’. Zikra Hameed, Mohd Farid, Saddam Hussain, and Sain Alig presented their ghazals, while Seema presented a paper on poets affiliated with Aligarh.

Dr Aftab Alam Najmi conducted the programme.