The second edition of Bhendi Bazaar Urdu Festival to be held from January 8 to 10 promises to be a grand affair. With mostly non-Muslims leading the programme — be it telling the audience how the letters of Jan Nisar Akhtar to his wife that gave words to Bollywood songs to paying tribute to Sadhna or Baba Bulleh Shah's Sufi songs — the three-day festival is loaded with events celebrating Sufism.
"We are keen that non-Muslims are performing because we want people to know that Urdu is not just the language of Muslims or the religion. Though a large section of the community may be using it, there are many non-Muslims who have got great recognition due to this language," said Farid Khan, chairman of the programme committee of Urdu Markaz that is organizing the event.
Free for all, the event will take place mostly in the evenings from 5 to 10 at two different grounds at Imambada. The inauguration will be done by city mayor Snehal Ambekar.
"There is a book on the letters exchanged between Jan Nisar Akhtar and Safia Akhtar. They gave inspiration and works to some of the Bollywood songs and the same will be sung by Pooja Gaitonde," said Khan.
The first day will also kick-start the tributes the event will be paying to many renowned icons, including Sadhana. Though heritage walks have been shelved this year, they will be replaced by plays that will inform people about "Tarraqi Pasand Tehreek" (Progressive) writers of the time.
"The Wazir Hotel which is now taken over by Shalimar restaurant will be recreated for the communist commune that existed that time. It was a place where writers would often recite their poems in an Urdu Coffee House culture," added Khan.
The second day will see tributes to a host of Sufi greats through live music like Punjab Sufi poet Baba Bulleh Shah and Abdul Rehman Shah Baba, popularly known in the area as Dongri Ke Sultan. "While the former's work will be played by troupe of Kabir Festival, the latter's work of the nothingness in a man's arrogance will be played," said Khan.
To ensure that there is something for children, Urdu play and script writing classes will also be held. "We will also have a lecture on Celebrating Urdu by Dnyanpeeth awardee Bhalchandra Nemade and Sudheendra Kulkarni on the last day," said Zubair Azmi, director of Urdu Markaz.
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