Mumbai: The University of Mumbai will host the third edition of its 'Jashn-E-Urdu' festival next week at its Kalina campus.
Qamar Siddiqui, Assistant Professor at the university's Urdu department, said the festival, organised by the university's Urdu department, and Urdu Channel, a literary magazine, is being held against the background of growing interest in the language. "Urdu has acquired an identity of a cosmopolitan language; it is a good scenario," said Siddiqui.
The University of Mumbai's Urdu department is now the largest language department, with 160 students in the postgraduate courses and 24 pursuing Ph.Ds. The department also conducts very popular certificate courses for beginners. Siddiqui said this is particularly so because many non-Urdu speakers come to Mumbai to join theatre and Bollywood.
Obaid Azam Azmi, editor of Urdu Channel, said that the festival is an effort to create more interest in literature. "The common man should become more aware of literature. This is the reason why we have participants from other language groups. We have included Marathi and Hindi literature. It is a way to share what you have with others," said Azmi.
The festival will have traditional Urdu literary forms like mushaira or poetry reading, marsiya khwani or recitation of elegies, mazmoon navesi or essay writing, afsana khwani or storytelling, and khatati or chirography.
The festival will feature drama, music, open mic events, mehendi, and quizzes. There will be special programmes on Urdu's presence in areas like Konkan and Bhiwandi. The festival will be inaugurated on January 10, 2025, by Ravindra Kulkarni, Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai.
One of the obstacles that non-Urdu speakers face when they aspire to learn the language is the script. Though Urdu can be written in other scripts, most of its literature is in Nastaliq, a script derived from Persian-Arabic. Siddiqui said that with tools like AI this is no longer a hindrance. "People are again going for oral traditions. Reading sessions of novels are becoming popular," said Siddiqui.
Jashn-E-Urdu festival
Dates: January 10, 11, 12
Venue: Marathi Bhasha Bhavan, University of Mumbai's Vidyanagari Campus, Kalina
