With the winter bidding goodbye, it seems the right time to celebrate romanticism, lilt and flow. The second edition of Jashn-e-Rekhta (JeR) to be held at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts from February 12 to 14 is a destination for those wishing to partake and participate in this celebration.
The participating authors, poets, artists, litterateurs, singers include Gopi Chand Narang, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Iftikhar Arif, Zehra Nigah, Javed Akhtar, Jeelani Bano, Mahesh Bhatt, Shabana Azmi, Tom Alter, Sabri Brothers, Tina Sani, Ashok Vajpeyi and Namvar Singh.Sanjiv Saraf, the founder of Rekhta.org which organises the event feels the entire festival package, including the panel discussions, mushairas, qawwalis, dastangoi sessions, ghazals, film screening, dances and plays, are sure to engage the youth. “The variety of genres, tastes, flavours and nuances of the language at JeR will impress youngsters to realise that Urdu is neither a difficult nor exotic language and that it is not confined to Muslims alone but belongs to this land.”
The festival will commence with “Kaifi Aur Main” by Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi while the next day features Tom Alter in “Ghalib Ke Khat” directed by M. Sayeed Alam and “Dara Shikoh” directed by M. S. Sathyu scheduled for the last day. One can enjoy qawwali by Sabri Brothers and ghazals by Tina Sani of Pakistan or get immersed in the poetry of Abbas Tabish, Anwar Masood, Khushbir Singh Shaad, Zehra Nigah and others at Bazm-e-Sukhan: Mushaira. Discussions on subjects ranging from Mir Taqi Mir to Urdu in films to youth and poetry and portrayal of life on TV through Urdu are also scheduled .
Speaking about last JeR, Sanjiv says “We were completely taken aback with the positive response and enthusiasm in terms of numbers, attendance and energy spurring us to organise the second edition at a different venue.”
Going through festival schedule one found some welcome additions like a separate section for children’s activities like storytelling, reading, qawwali singing by specially-abled children, etc. Likewise, the food court promises authentic Kashmiri, Deccani, Hyderabadi, Lucknowi and Old Delhi cuisines. . The event will celebrate the birth anniversary of Ismat Chugtai, Rajinder Singh Bedi and Akhtar ul Iman besides paying tribute to Nida Fazli and Initizaar Hussain.
