close_game
close_game

Shabana to join Kaifi Azmi cultural heritage walk in Madanpura

Jan 12, 2025 06:42 AM IST

Actress Shabana Azmi will revisit Madanpura on Sunday to honor her late father, poet Kaifi Azmi, with a walk celebrating the area's rich cultural history.

MUMBAI: Having spent the formative years of her life in Madanpura, actress Shabana Azmi will revisit the area on Sunday to flag off a walk in honour of her late father, the renowned poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi. Madanpura was where he and other Urdu poets and writers lived, worked, drank and wrote before they made their big break into Bollywood.

Mumbai, India - Jan. 11, 2025:Urdu Markaz office at Madanpura in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, January 11, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)
Mumbai, India - Jan. 11, 2025:Urdu Markaz office at Madanpura in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, January 11, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

“Madanpura was once a cultural hotbed of Bombay,” said Zubair Azmi, director of the cultural organisation Urdu Markaz, which is conducting the walk. “It was the hub of the handloom and power loom industries, fuelled by the textile industry boom in Bombay. This made it the perfect setting for the Communist Party of India office, which attracted these idealist writers and poets.”

The walk will begin with a little tete-a-tete at the Urdu Markaz office in Madanpura, where Zubair hopes to prompt Shabana into a flashback with old photos of the area, and a request to read aloud Kaifi’s iconic nazm ‘Aurat’. The next stop will be what once was the CPI office, near Bohri Masjid, where Kaifi worked, but now lost to the ravages of redevelopment. Shabana’s home, the party commune, Red Flag Hall, was nearby in Girgaon.

“Each comrade’s family had just one room; the bathroom and lavatory were common,” says Shabana in a blog on azmikaifi.com. “My mother was touring quite a lot with Prithvi Theatres, and in her absence Abba would feed, bathe and look after both my brother Baba and me… Amongst his female friends, Begum Akhtar was my favourite. She would sometimes stay with us as a house guest. In fact Josh Malihabadi, Firaq Malihabadi, Firaq Gorakhpuri and Faiz Ahmed Faiz would stay with us too despite there being no separate guest room, not even an attached bathroom. Luxury was never the central concern of these artistes; they preferred the warmth of our tiny home to the 5-star comforts available to them.”

“Because the Communist Party’s salary of 50 was too little for the family, Kaifi sahab would write children’s poetry for the small Urdu papers and magazines, around 20 to 30 of which had their offices in the area, including Urdu Times, Inquilab and Hindustan Urdu Daily, which is the only one still surviving,” said Zubair of another spot on the walk. “Shaukat, Shabana’s mother, worked in Prithviraj Kapoor’s theatre group where the Royal Opera House is now. She would tie baby Shabana on her back in a cloth bundle and take her along.”

The next stop on the walk is perhaps the most well known of them all: the Sarvi Hotel and Nagpada garden on Hasrat Mohani Chowk, named after the freedom fighter and poet.

“Sarvi features in Manto’s life and stories, with characters navigating the red-light area of Kamathipura,” said Zubair. “After him, others followed: Rajinder Singh Bedi, Krishan Chander, Kaifi and the lot. There was a glamour to the area, as many Jews and Christians who were back-up dancers in film songs lived there.”

The next and last stop, provided entry is allowed, will be at Adelphi Chambers in the Khoja Compound.

“After Kaifi moved out in the 1950s to Janki Kutir in Juhu, the handloom and power loom industries gave way to factories,” said Zubair, who was born and brought up in the area and has seen many of the poets around. “The area has always been home to migrant labourers from UP, Bihar and West Bengal, and their issues have remained constant.”

For the Urdu Markaz, the walk, called Urdu Marathi Tehzeebi Yatra, is the start of a series to keep the memory of Urdu and Marathi poets alive. The next one will be on Dalit poet Namdeo Dhasal who stayed in Kamathipura.

rec-icon Recommended Topics
Share this article
Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.
See More
Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On