In December, Urdu enthusiasts from across India flocked to Delhi for the annual Jashn-e-Rekhta festival that celebrates the Urdu language through poetry reading, appreciation and Sufi music. For those Bengalureans who missed the grand symposium in Delhi, there is Deewaangi. Though on a much smaller scale, Deewaangi is organised with the same aim as the Delhi event — to revive and restore interest in the Urdu language.
This weekend, on the first Sunday of the year, Deewangi, organised by the Kathputliyaan Theatre Group and Mehfil-e-Saaz-o-Shayeri, an online group of Urdu poets and enthusiasts, features a host of up-and-coming Urdu poets, and Hindustani and Sufi singers.
Pandit Hari Krishan Pahwa — a poet and singer, Manoj and Arundhati Vasishta, all three singers will enthrall audiences with their poetry recitations and singing. “In addition to the musical performances, there will be short theatrical pieces presented on the lives of poets like Saadat Hasan Manto, Munshi Premchand and Ghalib,” says Zafer Mohiuddin, theatre and voiceover artiste, who has conceptualised Deewaangi.
Another highlight of the programme is a Qissagoi performance piece by theatre artiste Kafeel Jafri. “It’s a comment on social media, told in the ancient Urdu storytelling form, Qissagoi,” explains Kafeel. There’s no specific theme for the presentations and poems on varied topics like nature, love, current affairs will be recited. “This is a gathering for genuine lovers of the language, people who understand and appreciate Urdu,” says Zafer.
Entry free. January 7. At Agricultural Technologists Institute, Queen’s Road.
Details: 9620943239
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