Jashn-e-Rekhta 2024 Returns with Bigger Venue and Newer Shades of Urdu – News18

Urdu enthusiasts around the globe are rejoicing as the Rekhta Foundation announces the dates for Jashn-e-Rekhta 2024—the world’s largest Urdu language, literature, and cultural festival—scheduled for December 13, 14, and 15 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. The three-day festival promises to be a vibrant celebration of artistic expression, drawing audiences from across the world.

This year’s festival will showcase over 200 artists across 40+ sessions, spread over three immersive stages. Jashn-e-Rekhta 2024 will bring together an exciting blend of Ghazals, Sufi music, Qawwali, Storytelling, Mushaira, poetry recitations, and interactive sessions featuring celebrity conversations, masterclasses, and more. The festival will also include a curated Rekhta food festival (Aiwan-e-Zaiqa), a Books Bazaar, and very popular Rekhta Bazaar featuring handicrafts and merchandise.

Jashn-e-Rekhta 2024 has been thoughtfully curated keeping in mind the importance of promoting varied nuances of the Urdu language. The festival will open with a grand Sufi performance by Padmashri Kailash Kher on the inaugural evening of Friday, 13th December.

“This year, we’ve moved the festival to a new and a larger venue, ensuring comfort for visitors and providing an even more art-friendly environment. We intend to delve deeper into the realm of Urdu and introduce its lovers to the newer shades of the language’s literature and culture.” said Huma Khalil, Trustee & Creative Director, Rekhta Foundation.

Jashn-e-Rekhta has consistently drawn enormous crowds in its previous editions, and with its growing popularity amongst the youth, this year’s event is expected to be bigger and more spectacular than ever.

Sanjiv Saraf, Founder, Rekhta Foundation added, “People from all backgrounds and parts of country join their hands and hearts to make Jashn-e-Rekhta possible. It is only the love and warmth in the hearts of people towards their beloved language and the festival that keeps it ordered in spite of such huge number of attendees. There is no denying that even a greater number of audience is going to turn up this year, and we must be prepared for it. We have taken significant steps to ease the rush on venue. Being a lover of Urdu, I am as much excited to be a part of Jashn-e-Rekhta 2024 as anyone.”

Special Highlights of the Festival: The 2024 edition will feature several unique sessions, including: Nationalism in Urdu Poetry, exploring the overlooked nationalist spirit in Urdu poetry. The Art of Humor and Satire, examining Urdu’s longstanding tradition of wit and satire. The Varied Art Forms of Urdu, delving into the visual and literary art traditions that have flourished within the Urdu language. Celebrating Delhi Poets and the capital’s rich poetic legacy and vibrant music scene. Performances celebrating eminent lyricists from the realm of Urdu Poetry, Ghazal in its new avatar showcasing the blend of traditional Urdu music with contemporary styles. One of the key highlights of the festival will be the Grand Finale of Rekhta Baitbaazi- a national competition celebrating Urdu tradition, which is currently being conducted at various universities across India.

Having made its international debut in London in 2023 and expanded to Dubai in 2024, Jashn-e-Rekhta continues to grow in global stature. The festival’s influence extends beyond India, offering a platform for literary and cultural exchange on a worldwide scale.

Rekhta Foundation has been operating online repositories that came into existence with the aim of democratizing access [providing open & free of cost access] to all information and knowledge. This effort aims to create an inclusive knowledge society with universal access to knowledge and information about their linguistic legacy.

The Foundation has curated the one of the largest online repositories for Urdu [rekhta.org], Hindi [hindwi.org], Rajasthani [anjas.org], Sufi & Bhakti Traditions [sufinama.org] & Gujarati [gujarati.org]. Additionally, we operate the largest trilingual dictionary [rekhtadictionary.com] and Hindi dictionary [hindwidictionary.com].