Colonel VP Singh, Army Medical Corps just posted a comment and that threw up something in the mind which I need to share. Colonel VP Singh was honored by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 for his rendering of a 90 minute long poem on the Kargil Operations. A true Nationalist and patriot I have great respect for his literary skills and ability to move audiences. In Oct 2008, at the height of the turbulence in Baramula I invited him to recite his Kargil poem in the Thimaya Auditorium to a mixed Fauji and local Kashmiri audience but before that I requested that a special poem for the occasion be composed on Maqbool Sherwani the true patriot and Nationalist of Baramula who was executed by the Kabbalis in Oct 1947 for resisting them and assisting the Indian Army. The poem he composed is given below.:- Mohommad Maqbool Shervani, Shahadat ka Naam Hai Mohommad Maqbool Shervani, Mohobat ka Naam Hai Hindustan ke Dil mein, Roshan Chirag Sa Mohommad Maqbool Shervani, Ibadat ka Naam Hai Kashmir ka Beta Woh Bharat ka Lal Tha Kehne Ko Ek Tha Magar Woh Mahakal Tha Woh Quami Itehad Ka Parcham Bana Raha Khuddar Tha Nekhauf Tha Woh Bemisaal Tha Dushman ke Raaston Mein Chattan Ban Gaya Kashmiriyat Ka Jaagta, Unwaan Ban Gaya Apne Watan Ke Khak Pe Sab Kuchh Nisaar Kar Har Tarah Se Woh Sachcha Musalmaan Ban Gaya Tareekh Ke Pannon Mein Likha Uska Naam Hai Ullangen Na Kabhi Jo Kiya Usne Kaam Hai Hindustan Le Ke Aqeedat Ke Kai Phool Shaheed Shervani Ko Karta Salaam Hai After reciting this to a thunderous applause Colonel VP Singh rendered his famous 90 minute eulogy on Kargil. It is both a tear jerker and a passionate poem of valor and sacrifice which he should be asked by various institutions in India to recite. Youth fests etc are ideal and stand alone shows. In 2010 when I was returning to Srinagar as Corps Commander I once again rang him and requested for another poem on Kashmir which should motivate the people at a time when tempers were flared all over. He wrote me a gem which I once posted here but cant find now and it did not draw that kind of attention then as it may today. I recited the poem to the youth only at the end of my stay, in a fascinating seminar which involved Kashmir and Awantipura Islamic Technical Universities. Here it is - Ye tumhe kisne kaha tum watan ki jaan nahi Bina tumhare muqqamal ye Hindoostan nahi Koi tumhi se wafa ke sawal kyoon poochhe Watan parasti toh jazba hai imtehan nahi. Tumhara haq hai, tumhari bhi hissedari hai Ye Bharatvarsh tumhari bhi zimmedari hai Iski mitti me lahu hai tumhare purkhon ka Iski khushboo pe likhkhi dastaan tumhari hai Colonel VP Singhs capabilities were only exploited to a very limited extent in the Army and he took premature retirement. He is a motivator extraordinaire. Organizations, especially HRD related should consider him for the most unique events only he can produce. Thank you Colonel VP Singh for always being there when I needed you and for having kept me so motivated. It is good to return to such poetry because the Nation seems to be returning to Nationalism and Patriotism in a bigger way.
Posted on: Sat, 24 May 2014 14:30:52 +0000