New Delhi:
After celebrating Valentine's day, the national capital is all set to host the third edition of the poetry festival 'Jashn-e-Rekhta'.
The unique festival will be a three-day event to eulogise Urdu and will begin in Delhi on February 17.
Renowned poet-lyricist Gulzar and sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali will be inaugurating 'Jashn-e-Rekhta' this year which will be followed by a musical evening by Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash.
Over 100 distinguished writers, poets, artists, singers and acclaimed personalities from the Urdu fraternity will participate in the poetry festival.
The festival which aspires to open up the sensory experience of living and loving Urdu language will also host sufi evening with Hans Raj Hans and a qawwali performance by Dhruv Sangari.
Lyricist Prasoon Joshi will talk about the role of language in expanding his literary expressions and presence of Urdu in Bollywood lyrics.
Javed Siddiqui and Prem Chopra along with film historian, Bhawana Somaaya will share the stage to narrate the journey of Urdu over the years of evolution of the Indian cinema.
The festival will witness sessions like Ghalib, Hali and Urdu Renaissance, Urdu Mein Insaan-dosti ka Naghma and a discussion on Urdu literature.
"Rekhta is a movement to preserve and promote the rich literary and cultural heritage of Urdu, by availing technology and social media platforms as well as by celebrating its versatility and splendor.
"Jashn-e-Rekhta is an extension of the same commitment to reclaim our rich heritage. With the festival I have seen Urdu starting to resonate among hundreds of thousands of people cutting across age, gender, social, economic, religious or geographical divides," Dr Sanjiv Saraf, founder of Rekhta Foundation said.
Jashn-e-Rekhta will be held at IGNCA, Delhi. However, the timings of the sessions vary, the entry and registration for this popular poetry festival is free of cost.
