Celebration of the richness of the language, the World’s largest Urdu literary festival, ‘Jashn-e-Rekhta’, is set to be hosted by Dubai this year, with eminent names from Pakistan, including Samina and Usman Peerzada, Bee Gul and Mahira Khan, to grace the event.
As learnt from the social media handles and website of the festival, the two-day event will be held on the last weekend of this month, at Zabeel Park in Dubai, UAE, with a stellar lineup of artists and luminaries from India, Pakistan as well as other regions.
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The festival will kickstart on January 27, with ‘Urdu Tehzeeb Aur Rishton Ki Lazzat’, veteran Indian poet Javed Akhtar and Pakistani Urdu literature expert Arfa Sayeda Zehra in a conversation with Adeel Hashmi.
It will be followed by Ismat Chughtai’s Urdu play ‘Dozakh’, by Sydney’s Adakar Theatre Group and a Sufi concert, ‘Naghmo’n ki Maseehaii’ by Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan, on the same day.
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The festival will continue with ‘Iftitaah’, ‘Raqs-e-Naa Tamaam’ – a depiction of the life of Madam Noor Jehan by an Indian group of Danish Iqbal and Shinjini Kulkarni, and ‘Shab-e-Rafta’, an evening of Sufi music.
The first day of the festival will wrap up with a book/music album launch.
The final day of the literary fest, on January 28, will begin with the conversation of Pakistani showbiz veterans Samina and Usman Peerzada with Bee Gul, ‘Mera Fann, Meri Zindagi’, followed by ‘Kahaani Se Kirdaar Tak’, featuring Mahira Khan and Shabana Azmi with filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.
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A grand mushaira, ‘Gehan Aur Dhoop’ and a musical masterpiece project ‘Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaau’n’ with Javed Akhtar, Jahnvi Shrimankar and Meiyang Chang are also in the stellar lineup of day 2.
Before the final book launch to conclude the festival, Indian singer Javed Ali will serenade the attendees with some divine Sufi music.
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The annual festival which was first held back in 2015, under the organization of the Rekhta Foundation, made its international debut last year in London. It was initially to be held in Dubai in February 2019 but was pushed due to the pandemic.
As per Sanjiv Saraf, the founder of the Rekhta Foundation, the cosmopolitan nature of Dubai is a main contributing factor to Urdu being a popular medium of speech. “In choosing Dubai, we embrace the city’s thriving Urdu-speaking community, a testament to the rich demographic diversity in the heart of the UAE. In the current geopolitical climate, Jashn-e-Rekhta in Dubai stands out as a beacon of cultural unity, transcending political divides and fostering connections through the universal language of poetry and shared cultural heritage,” he was quoted as saying by an international publication.
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Jashn-e-Rekhta, held under the patronage of Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Co-existence, guarantees a rich cultural fusion, weaving the essence of the Urdu language, its literature, and culture into the cosmopolitan fabric of the UAE for the very first time, organizers stated further.
A footfall of almost 15,000 attendees is expected from India, Pakistan and across the globe.
Apart from experiencing the richness of Urdu, the attendees will also have the opportunity to explore an Urdu Bazaar, showcasing stalls with a variety of art, handicrafts and books.
Tickets for the festival, priced at AED75, are now open to purchase at the official website of Jashn-e-Rekhta.
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