A Urdu poetry festival in the capital is proof that the language has found a new crop of young takers
There might always be a linguistic tug-of-war between Urdu and Hindi, with each camp extolling the virtues of each language. But, if on Saturday, one had taken a stroll in the capital's India International Centre, a huge gathering of Urdu lovers who descended there to be a part of an Urdu poetry festival would have proved them of the following the language commands on this side of the border.
Turning up in droves to celebrate the beauty of the language, the gathering was a part of Jashn-e-Rekhta, a two-day festival that showcases "the pluralist nature of Urdu ethos". The festival, started this year, is an initiative of the people behind the Rekhta, an online source of Urdu poetry that has over 12,000 ghazals, 12,000 shayaris, 10,000 books and 4,000 nayabs.
"Most of the people turning up today are young people. There is a strong resurgence of Urdu enthusiasts," said Sanjiv Saraf, founder of Rekhta. "In fact, the idea of Rekhta emerged because of the active interests of youngsters. This festival was also formed to ensure that youngsters interact with Urdu legends." The festival has in attendance Shamsur Rehman Faruqi, Zia Mohyeddin, Munawwar Rana, amongst others.
Historian Rana Safvi, who took part on a panel discussion on Urdu on the internet in the morning session, runs the popular @shairoftheday handle on twitter. "Apart from me and another person who is in her 50s, the rest of the people behind #shair are around 25 and 30 years. Anyone who talks of the syncretism between the languages could head to the timeline of our twitter handle. People all over the world are tweeting mushaira around the clock," she says.
Pakistani Urdu poet and writer Ali Akbar Natiq trays that his last book sold more than 5000 copies. "In Pakistan, Urdu commands a lot of respect. And even if children cannot write it, children in India too understand the language mostly," he says.
Actor Danish Hussain, known for being one of the people reviving the art of Dastangoi, enthralled the gathering with Akhtari, his tribute to Begum Akhtar sung by Vidya Shah. Hussain is also somewhat known for bringing the beauty of the language to unexpected corners. "Urdu must be taken to places that has a huge presence of the youth. People like (Rana) Safvi are doing that," he said. "A good thing will always find its takers."
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