It’s time for Jashn: Recreating the love for Urdu

The 7th edition of Jashn-e-Rekhta, back after a pandemic-led hiatus of three years, will have over 150 artistes participating across three days in mushairas, qawwalis, dastaangoi sessions and more.

Jashn-e-Rekhta, the three-day cultural festival dedicated to Urdu poetry and Hindustani culture is back after a pandemic-led hiatus of three years. The seventh edition of the festival will feature over 150 artistes, including Bollywood actors and singers, poets, lyricists and dastaangos (storytellers). Additionally, there will be food stalls, book exhibition, art and craft bazaar and more. Sanjiv Saraf, founder, says, “People exhibited remarkable resilience and came together in overcoming this challenge. This year we have made changes to the facilities to give a better experience. We have more poetry sessions. We are also moving towards creating our own programmes in addition to curating. I invite one and all to join us as we celebrate our cultural heritage and oneness and make the Jashn an unforgettable experience.”

Visitors at the Jashn-e-Rekhta Festival in New Delhi. (Photo: Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

Actor Dia Mirza. (Photo: SUJIT JAISWAL /AFP)

Among the participating artistes is actor Dia Mirza who will be talking about growing up in Hyderabad in a house filled with ghazals. “My relationship with poetry began in childhood, in a home that overflowed with ghazals. My stepfather used to recite Urdu poetry all the time. Even though I was a child of the 80s, I used to listen to the music from the 40s, 50s, and 60s and many of them were written by prolific greats like Kaifi Azmi, Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakeel Badayuni, Shailendra, Rajinder Krishan and poets who were equally well-versed in Hindi and Urdu. This environment seeped into me when I was very young and one of the ways in which I expressed myself was through poems in my diary,” she says. Sharing a similar initiation into the language, singer Shilpa Rao, who will be in conversation with music director Sheykhar Ravjiani and television host Atika Farooqui, says, “I was around 10-11 years when my dad introduced me to Urdu ghazal. There was an instant connect. It’s the oldest love affair I have ever had.” Giving a glimpse into her panel discussion, Rao said that she’ll talk about how Urdu poetry and ghazal have shaped their careers. “We have fallen back on Urdu whenever we need some beauty in our songs. It’s also a very strong criteria for me to choose songs that the lyrics have to be meaningful. It ensures that the song stays in the domain for longer and creates an impact.” Elaborating this, Ravjiani adds, “Sometimes just the infusion of a few Urdu words can transform a song – an example would be a film song that I sang and composed called Zehnaseeb, which means someone who is blessed/lucky. Just that little touch of Urdu in combination with the melody made the song connect with so many people on a completely different level.” He goes on to credit Urdu great Mirza Ghalib as an influence. “Some poets seem to speak as if they have a direct connect with a higher power and Ghalib, to me, is one such gem,” he says.

Singer Shilpa Rao. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

The festival will see an amalgamation of Sufi music, mushaira, poetry recitations and qawwali among many other formats. Mirza stresses that events like these are a “celebration of poetry, music, and the magnificence of inspired creativity and imagination. I would not want the generation after me to grow up in a world where poetry, lyricism, refinement, and tehzeeb are relics of the past.” To sum the mood up, Saraf recites a couplet by poet Asghar Gondvi: “chalaa jaataa hoon hanstaa kheltaa mauj-e-havaadis se, agar aasaaniyaan ho zindagi dushvar ho jaaye (I go laughing and playing with the waves of adversity, If life were to be easy unbearable it would be)”

Catch it live:

What: Jashn-e-Rekhta Where: Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium When: December 2-4; Timing: 6pm onward on Dec 2, 11am-9.30pm on Dec 3-4.Nearest metro station: Pragati Maidan

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