Delhi’s weekends to see cultural fests till Xmas
New Delhi: As winter creeps into the Capital, so does the festive air. Delhi’s weekends have been scheduled for cultural fests till the Christmas celebrations take over, spanning across the city.
The weekend took off with one of the world’s largest Urdu festivals, Jashn-e-Rekhta, from December 8 to December 10 at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. The three-day festival hosted over 200 artists, with panel discussions, book publications and music, ranging from qawwali performances to ghazals.
The festival is hosted by Rekhta Foundation and this year they held its eighth edition. Prominent figures like Javed Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, Muzaffar Ali, Najeeb Jung graced the stages for over 60 events. Jashn-e-Rekhta also celebrated 300 years of Mir Taqi Mir, also known as Khuda-i-Sukhan or the ‘God of Poetry’.
On December 9, Blue Material, an all-Dalit lineup for stand-up comedy was held in the city. Comics Ankur Tangade, Radhe Krushna and Ravi performed in the show, where they joked about caste, politics and the experiences that come with their identity.
“The colour blue is associated with the anti-caste movement signifying the colour of the sky, a representation of non-discrimination, that under the sky, everyone is believed to be equal,” the organisers explained.
Gulmohar Park witnessed Rainbow Lit Festival, a queer literary fest with the tagline “queer and inclusive”. The two-day itinerary witnessed prominent figures like lawyers Sauragh Kirpal and Rohin Bhatt on a panel about ‘Sex, Love and the Law”, actor Kalki Koechlin talking about ‘A Like Like No Other’ and author Urvashi Butalia, actor Mona Ambegaonkar,
director Alankrita Shrivasta on a panel, “Feminism and Queerness”.
The festival also screened movies, held book talks and hosted small queer businesses.
An annual food festival will be held by Zomato at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, with carnival games, live music and featured restaurants. The festival travels across eight cities, from Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Mumbai and closes the curtains in Kolkata.
The next weekend, the North East Festival will be held at JLN Stadium, which showcases the cuisine and art of the northeastern states. It will be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region G Kishan Reddy, Union ministers Anurag Thakur and Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, amongst other prominent guests.
