Urdu enthusiasts from across the city were attracted to Bhendi Bazaar on Saturday as the fourth Bhendi Bazaar Urdu Festival was inaugurated in one of the oldest native marketplaces of Mumbai. The festival turned out be an actual celebration of the language as young students and individuals who came to listen to shayaris also participated to present impromptu poems to the audience.
The Bhendi Bazaar Urdu Festival, organized by Urdu Markaz, is organised to celebrate the beauty of Urdu language and pay homage to the area’s literary talents who made their Urdu writings reach worldwide from the lanes of Bhendi Bazaar in last one and a half centuries. The three-day literary festival, organised by Urdu Markaz at the Imamwada Urdu municipal school, was inaugurated by noted lyricist Javed Akhtar.
Addressing the audience at the festival, Javed Akhtar shared his wish for the revival of the Hindustani dialect, a mixture of Hindi and Urdu. “Urdu and Hindi are probably the only two languages in the world which share the same grammar. Some read only Dinkar and some read only Ghalib but there is a section of society which wants to read both of them. For them, the lost Hindustani should be revived.”
Mushaira In Honour Of Jan Nisar Akhtar:
The inaugural session of Bhendi Bazaar Urdu Festival was followed by a mushaira to honour Jan Nisar Akhtar, father of Javed Akhtar, who was a renowned poet associated with the progressive writers’ movement. Urdu Markaz also honoured Dr. Sanjay Deshpande, Director, Centre for Central Eurasian Studies, University of Mumbai and Burhani College with the Mohsin-e-Urdu award for true contribution to the language. Actor Sachin Pilgaonkar will also be felicitated with this award on Sunday.
Zubair Kazmi, Director, Urdu Markaz, said, “In 2013, I had a discussion with Javed Akhtar and we wished to start a festival like the Kala Ghoda Art Festival of Mumbai or the Dubai Festival and thus Bhendi Bazaar Urdu Festival started. We want that people know about the literary importance of places like Madanpura, Nagpada, Hotel Wazir and similar places where renowned Urdu writers have spent their lifetime.”
Event Details:
The festival will continue till Monday where in multiple literary events have been lined up by Urdu Markaz. Sufi qawwalis, plays based on stories by Saadat Hasan Manto, musical fusion of ‘Urdu and Bollywood’ Urdu Markaz director Zubair Azmi’s literary talk titled ‘Kuch Ilmi Kuch Filmi’ and exhibition of photographs of Urdu poets and writers.
About Bhendi Bazaar:
Bhendi Bazaar, which is infamous for its connection with the underworld, has also been the centre of Urdu literature due to multiple literary giants who lived in the area and contributed their life towards literature. Saadat Hasan Manto, Shakil Badayuni, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Sahir Ludhiyanvi and Kaifi Azmi are some of the famous names who have spent the major phase of their life in this area and have been a part of the progressive writers’ movement.
The neighbourhood also lends its name to Mumbai’s only classical music lineage- the Bhendi Bazaar Gharana. It emerged during the 19th century when the three brothers- Chhajju, Nazeer and Khadim Khan came to from Bijnor and developed a style of classical singing that grew into a unique genre of Hindustani classical music.
(Courtesy: The Free Press Journal)
