IT was a multifaceted celebration at the India International Centre Annexe in New Delhi on February 11 when the tallest men and women in the field of Urdu literature gathered to express their joy at Prof Gopi Chand Narang, president of the Sahitya Akademy, being honoured with the award of Padma Bhusan by President A.P.J. Kalam. He had been honoured with the Padma Shri in 1990. The day was doubly celebrative because it also happened to be Narang’s birthday. It was announced that it was his 74th birthday but Khwaja Hasan Sani Nizami, the much revered high-priest of Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, first baffled and then put wise the august gathering of Narang’s admirers that it was only one of the two birthdays he celebrated every year. What was being celebrated in February was the day his mother gave him birth, but his second birthday was when he joined the world of Urdu as a student and scholar and then rose to be the greatest living champion and voice of Urdu culture in the contemporary world.

And guess who came for the party? The list was long, dazzling and overwhelming. The function was presided over by Syyed Shahid Mehdi, Vice-Chancellor of the Jamia Milla Islamia, and special guest was the feminine icon of Urdu literature Quarratual–ain-Hyder. She is known to all her admirers both in India and Pakistan as "Annie Appa". Another distinguished woman of Urdu literature Prof Sughra Mehdi read the beautiful little encomium she had written for Narang.

Among the honoured guests, there were Khwaja Hassan, Sani Nizami, Salahuddin Pervez, journalist Meem Afzal and Balraj Komal, leading figures of Hindi literature.

There were other stellar personalities from the world of Urdu literature who paid poetic tributes. Among them were Noorjehan Sarwat, Chandrabhan Khayal, Mateen Amrohi and Abdul Mannan Tarzi, whose poetic work on Narang entitled

"Narang Zar" was also released on the occasion. But of my special favourites among the poets who paid poetic tributes to Narang were Nida Fazli and Rifat Sarosh.

The leading publishing houses, which participated in the organisation of the felicitations, were: Isteara Publications, the Educational Publishing House and the Anees Academy.