Seeking to revive Urdu literature and setting forth a platform to encourage fresh litterateurs, both in Urdu and Hindi, Jashn-e-Adab Society for Poetry and Literature is organising the fourth Edition of the International Poetry festival in Delhi and Mumbai.
"Urdu, a generous mixture of languages like Persian, Portuguese, Arabic, Turkish is perhaps the only language that can be enjoyed even if you don't understand it," says Urdu Poet Kunwar Ranjeet Chauhan, who is also the Secretary of Jashn-e-Adab Trust.
The festival, has lined up acclaimed writers and poets from across borders and generations, and is spread over three days. In Delhi, it will be held on April 30 and May 3, and in Mumbai on May 2. The first day will entail detailed discussions on multiple facets of both Hindi and Urdu literature, particularly those deemed essential for the proliferation of the languages, organisers said.
Prominent Urdu poets like Peerzada Qasim, Gopal Dass Neeraj, Ashok Chakradhar and Uday Pratap Singh from India and Pakistan will be among those speaking on the occasion.
Expressing a need for encouraging younger and newer talent in the domain, Chauhan says, "They have new thoughts but lack experience. It is very important for those adept at the art, to push these younger minds, by sharing experience and knowledge." "They are merely sketching their thoughts. It is very important for the legends to fill these sketches with the colours of experiences," he says.
The festival also seeks to uphold the paramount role of non-Muslims in promoting Urdu literature. "Several trusts Jashn-e-Adab, Jashn-e-Bahar and Rekhta which have contributed significantly in promoting the language and its literature have non-muslims at the prime posts," Chauhan, a non-muslim himself, says.
The other two days, both in Delhi and Mumbai, will witness Mushaira sessions where, poets, both old and new, will recite their compositions, along with the giving away of the annual literary awards.
