On June 23, The Canada Urdu Association (CUA) hosted an evening with Dr. Azra Raza who visited in Vancouver from the US. This event was arranged at Surrey Sports and Leisure Complex. Ms. Huma Shoib hosted the first session where she highlighted the CUA activities and encouraged everyone to get CUA membership. In the first session, she invited Ms. Nazish, Mr. Naseer Pirzada, and Ms. Simran, who all recited Ghalib’s poetry in melodious voices. Mr. Shoaib Inam then introduced Dr. Azra Raza who is a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) Center at Columbia University. Raza is a well-known oncology researcher and author of “The First Cell: And the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last”.
She also follows her passion of writing and reading poetry.
Mr. Inam also spoke of Mirza Asad Ullah Khan Ghalib who was famous for his unique style of poetry, modesty, and philosophical ideas making him the classic of Urdu poetry. “Reading the poems with their meanings and expertise has a sense of beauty as well as another kind of subtlety, and reading this beautiful and subtle feeling deeply is the work of Dr. Azra Raza”, said Mr. Imam.
Ms. Farzana Alam director of CUA then led an interview with Dr. Azra, she asking about her childhood, her family, her professional medical career, and her interest in poetry
especially Ghalib’s. **Dr. Azra Raza:
Bridging Science and Literature**
Dr. Azra Raza expressed gratitude to hosts and the audience while sharing her
family’s literary background. Her parents, who migrated from India to Pakistan on August 14, 1947, instilled in her a love for Urdu literature, a passion she now passes on to her daughter. She has a notable career in medical research in the US, and she also discussed her dual interest in science and literature. She captivated the audience by reciting poetry from renowned poets such as Mir Taqi Mir, Mir Ali Anees, and Mirza Dabeer, demonstrating a particular mastery of Mirza Ghalib’s work.
Her flawless recital of Ghalib’s ghazals and her ability to quote him effortlessly show cased her deep connection to his poetry.
In collaboration with co-author Sara Suleri Goodyear, Dr. Raza has reinterpreted 21 of Ghalib’s ghazals, further solidifying her
status as a poet at heart.
Her unique delivery and the emotive quality of her voice left a lasting impression on
audiences making it an unforgettable
evening for them.
