Need to resurrect lost languages

Some of the finest Urdu poets, authors and artistes from across the world came together to celebrate the spirit of the language by participating in the first edition of Jashn-e-Rekhta, an Urdu festival that was held in the city last week.

The festival was presented by the Rekhta foundation, which has curated the largest online anthology of Urdu poetry, and will be hosted at India International Centre. Speaking to Metrolife the event organisers said the festival was more of a celebration of the spirit and exuberance of Urdu.

“This festival is a platform to showcase the world of Urdu through the eyes and experience of its masters. We aim to reach out to both the Urdu speaking and the non-Urdu speaking audience," Sanjiv Saraf, founder of Rekhta.org said in a statement.

The two-day festival witnessed more than 60 renowned personalities from India and Pakistan who regaled the audience and visitors through performances, recitations, musical renditions, mushaira, dramas, panel discussions, dastangoi and film screenings.
The festival’s beginning was marked with an hour-long conversation with lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar, who left the assembled gathering in splits with his sharp wit and humour. Akhtar spoke at length about the convergence of different languages and told his audiences that they shouldn’t worry about the ‘originality’ of their language but to focus on how to resurrect the ‘disappearing mother tongues’.

“The languages we use today are a mix of various languages, so none of us can claim that we speak pure Hindi or pure Urdu. Instead of establishing the purity, we should engage with these languages in their contemporary form and ensure that they don’t disappear,” Akhtar urged.

The veteran writer, poet and lyricist also underscored the need to save ‘languages from the onslaught of fundamentalism’. “Languages belong to region, not any religion. Urdu is not indigenous to Muslims only and Hindi is not for Hindus,” Akhtar said, as the packed auditorium of IIC clung onto to his every word.

“Rekhta too means ‘convergence’ or ‘mixture of different things’. Our languages should also showcase this. There are attempts to sabotage the ties which we have with both Hindi and Urdu. This will not only take away our language but our land,” Akhtar said. He
emphasised how Urdu poetry, which signifies unity, is  superior to Arabic and Persian languages. 

“At the very genesis of the Urdu language lies secularism. While in Arabia and Persia, poetry started from holy places and ventured out into the world, Urdu has always kept its distance from holy places and been a language for the masses. It has been against fundamentalism and regressive thought,” he added.

The festival was attended by many eminent personalities including actress Nandita Das, Zia Mohyeddin and Ashfaq Huissain.

“The festival aims to showcase the pluralistic nature of Urdu ethos and explore its lyrical beauty and unparalleled eloquence,” one of the organisers told Metrolife.