India, Jan. 31 -- The lyrical intimacy of Urdu poetry and its ability to hold personal emotion alongside public unease came alive at the auditorium of Government Museum and Art Gallery in Sector 10 as well-known New Delhi-based young poet Abbas Qamar mesmerised audience with an evocative recital on Friday. The evening saw Qamar move seamlessly between vulnerability and resistance, weaving verses that reflected contemporary social and political concerns. A research scholar in political science, trained at Delhi University and Jamia Millia Islamia, Qamar's poetry draws deeply from lived experience, a quality that lends his work immediacy and relatability. The event, organised by Thinkers Collective, opened with an engaging interaction between Qamar and veteran journalist Nirupama Dutt, who spoke to the poet about his early influences and creative process. Reflecting on his formative years, Qamar spoke of poetry as an inheritance as much as a calling. "My maternal grandfather was a poet, though his work was limited to religious poetry. He was my first inspiration. I was drawn quite early to the language's capacity for nuance and emotional depth. During my first year of college in Delhi in 2014, I realised that poetry offered the most honest and precise way to articulate thoughts and feelings that resisted direct prose," he said. The recital featured several of Qamar's well-known ghazals, including Ashkon ko aarzoo-e-rihai hai, roiye, Tanhaai - ek hi tamasha hai, Darbaari hain aap, Sauda baraa-e-zindagi aasaan kar diya, and Fankaar nahi hun main. Qamar also spoke on the changing landscape of poetic platforms, noting that the decline of traditional gatherings where poets once met regularly has led to a thinning of sustained inter-generational dialogue and mentorship. "At the same time, it has compelled young poets to seek alternative spaces and audiences, fostering adaptability and new forms of literary community," he said. "Qamar proves that art bears a responsibility towards society at large," said Pramod Kumar, chairperson of Institute for Development and Communication, which conceived Thinkers Collective. HTC...