Urdu is a language of love, emotions and beauty. Here’s a festival in the city that celebrates the language in all its glory. The fifth edition of Jashn-e-Rekhta, the annual Urdu festival, has a great line-up of artists, poets,writers, celebs and a lot more for the lover of Urdu.
Sanjiv Saraf, founder of the Rekhta foundation, says, “If there is any language whose very essence tugs affectionately at one’s heartstrings, it is Urdu. The festival provides a platform to different genres of Urdu including literature, music, films, art, theatre, dance, oral storytelling and many others. It has received tremendous response during the last four years and what is rewarding is the love for Urdu taking root and blossoming in the hearts and minds of the younger generation. With this festival, we bridge divides and bring people closer to each other and to the language.”
The three-day festival has earlier seen Bollywood celebs such as Imtiaz Ali, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Nandita Das, Shabana Azmi sharing their love and thoughts with audience at the fest. This time, the list has lyricist Javed Akhtar, actors Javeed Jafri, Annu Kappor and Shabana Azmi, and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, besides others. And known faces in the world of Urdu literature will be anchoring or moderating the evening.
Said Mehmood, an author and advocate in Supreme Court, who will conduct the session with lyricist Javed Akhtar says, “I have been a part of the festival since its inception and I have chaired and spoken at various sessions before as well. This one is special, since Javed saheb comes from an illustrious lineage of poets, we will talk about the poetry and works of Javed sahab’s grandfather, Muztar Khairabadi, and his collection called Khirman. We will also talk about the situation of Urdu in India and other related issues.”
{{/usCountry}}Said Mehmood, an author and advocate in Supreme Court, who will conduct the session with lyricist Javed Akhtar says, “I have been a part of the festival since its inception and I have chaired and spoken at various sessions before as well. This one is special, since Javed saheb comes from an illustrious lineage of poets, we will talk about the poetry and works of Javed sahab’s grandfather, Muztar Khairabadi, and his collection called Khirman. We will also talk about the situation of Urdu in India and other related issues.”
{{/usCountry}}The festival has ghazals, sufi music, qawwali, dastangoi, panel discussions, poetry symposiums, recitations, celebrity conversations, film screenings and a lot more. Singer Shruti Pathak will be performing guzzler on the third day of the festival. She says, “I have been following the festival for the past three years, this is the first time I will perform there.” Pathak, known for her modern patterns of music, explains guzzler, saying: “I have blended ghazals and contemporary music to reach out to youngsters. Ghazals and poetries have been a part of life since childhood and I like blending it with contemporary sound.”