“Lafzon ne chiraag jalaye, shaam ne tehzeeb ka libaas pehna, Yamuna ke kinaare, shehar thoda ruk kar khud ko sunne laga.” Baansera Park set the tone for the opening day of Jashn-e-Rekhta’s tenth edition, where Urdu quietly held the evening together. Along the riverfront, people moved between stages, book stalls and small baithaks, guided by guftagu, kalaam and likhi hui zubaan. In one corner, a purani nazm found its way back into memory; in another, a khamosh qiraat continued in its own quiet way. Urdu felt familiar in the space, already known.
The lamp-lighting ceremony marked a decade of the festival, shaped by founder Sanjiv Saraf’s sustained vision. It served as a reminder that Jashn-e-Rekhta has grown into a space where Urdu continues to find new listeners while staying rooted in tradition. At Mehfil-Khana, the evening found one of its strongest anchors. Mehakti Khushbu ka Safar: Gulzar ke Saath brought the audience together for careful listening. Framed as a conversation, it allowed Divya Dutta to engage Gulzar with restraint and sensitivity, drawing him into thoughts on memory, writing and the inner life of words.
Listening to Gulzar was a reminder of why his voice continues to matter year after year. His reflections carried precision and honesty, shaped by lived experience and close observation. When he spoke about writing, it stayed measured and grounded, returning often to the ordinary-silences at home, passing expressions, moments that stay longer than expected. Divya Dutta guided the exchange with care, allowing his words to find their place with the audience.
Later, the same space shifted mood with Rang-e-Mausiqi, as Sukhwinder Singh took the stage. His voice filled the grounds with familiarity and force, drawing people closer through lyric and sound, closing the evening with a balance of poetry and music. Beyond the stages, food, books and calligraphy converged, as audiences moved between taste, text and thought, shaping an evening where culture was absorbed as much as it was performed.
With the final day of Jashn-e-Rekhta now underway, one question remains: how often does a city listen so closely to Urdu — its kahaniyaan, its shayari, its khamoshiyan and carry those notes back into everyday life? Perhaps the true measure of the festival lies not on the stage, but in the words people carry home. Sukhwinder Singh’s performance filled the evening with power and familiarity, turning poetry into song and drawing the audience together through voice, energy and shared feeling.
