Inauguration of Jashn e Rekhta 2017 was a grand success

Inauguration of Jashn e Rekhta 2017 was a grand success
By Faridoon Shahryar

IGNCA, New Delhi was draped in the colors of Culture last evening February 17 as #JashnERekhta2017 was launched with fanfare. Books, couplets from great poets, a food court with food items that can cause riots and there was an air of vibrancy permeated with an indelible love for Urdu adab.

"Tehzeeb, tameez aur adab, ye hamaare desh ke zevar hain," said Amjad Ali Khan Sahab, the Sarod maestro who along with Gulzar Sahab launched the three day festival that has done amazing service to the popularity of Urdu, especially amongst the youngsters. Amjad Sahab addressed Gulzar Sahab as the "Ghalib of this generation." Now that is surely debatable. Firstly, the level of poetry that Ghalib practised is truly rare and there are very few poets in the last one and a half centuries who can come close. Gulzar Sahab is an extremely popular name due to his immense contribution to the world of films. He referred to himself as "Urdu ka aashiq". His heartfelt support to Urdu and its script (rasmul khat) is truly praiseworthy. He pleaded that the Urdu script (which is shrinking) must find ways to reach out to as many people as possible. "Gharibi mein navaabi ka maza deti hai Urdu," he said. He also said that 80% of language that is spoken in Bollywood movies is Urdu. Amjad Ali Khan Sahab also made a pertinent point when he said that Urdu shouldn't be assoaciated with any particular religion. "Ye hamaare desh ki zubaan hai," he said.

Sanjiv Saraf Sahab, the visionary behind Rekhta, made an important announcement when he launched 'Aamozish', an online learning programme for Urdu script. This was appreciated by one and all. Sanjiv Sahab also unveiled the new logo of Rekhta. Javed Siddiqui Sahab, Saurabh Shukla, Gopi Chand Narang Sahab, Shamim Hanfi Sahab, Prem Chopra, Sheen Khaaf Nizam and Farhat Ehsas Sahab were other dignitaries present yesterday. Ayan Ali Bangash and Amaan Ali Bangash performed their mastery with Sarod. Their rendition of Rabindra Nath Tagore's 'Ekla Chalo Re' was fascinating.

In the next day two days, prominent speakers like Irfan Habib Sahab, Justice T S Thakur, Salman Khurshid, Prasoon Joshi, Sharmila Tagore, Gopi Chand Narang and several more will talk about various aspects of Urdu. There will be various kinds of Mushairas, baitbaazi, theatre productions, Ghazal evening, movie screening... In other words, priceless nuggets of Urdu adab and tehzeeb are up for grabs. My session with Prasoon Joshi is on Sunday February 19 between 11 am till 12 noon at deewan-e-aam.