CELEBRATE URDU IN ALL ITS GLORY IN THE CAPITAL
Fifth edition of the festival celebrating Urdu will have music, poetry and dastangoi
Urdu is a language of love, emotions and beauty. And a festival in the city celebrates it in all its glory. The fifth edition of Jashn-e-Rekhta, the annual Urdu festival, has a great lineup of artists, poets, writers and 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 aspects 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.”
Previous editions of the three-day festival have seen Bollywood celebs such as Imtiaz Ali, Nandita Das, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Shabana Azmi sharing their thoughts with the audience. This time, the list has lyricist Javed Akhtar, actors Javed Jafri and Annu Kappor and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj among others. Known faces from the world of Urdu literature will be anchoring or moderating the evening.
Said Mehmood, an author and advocate in the 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 earlier too. This one is special. Since Javed saheb comes from an illustrious lineage of poets, we will talk about the poetry and works of Javed saheb’s grandfather, Muztar Khairabadi, and his collection called Khirman. We will also talk about the situation of Urdu in India and other related issues.”
The festival has ghazals, sufi music, qawwali, dastangoi, panel discussions, poetry symposiums, recitations, film screenings and a lot more. Singer Shruti Pathak will perform on the third day of the festival. She says, “I’ve 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, says, “I have blended contemporary music and ghazals to reach out to youngsters. Ghazals and poetry have been a part of life since childhood and I like blending it with contemporary sound.”