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Continuing the tradition set last year by Rekhta Foundation, the Jashn-e-Rekhta festival is all set to kick off on February 12 to 14 next year in New Delhi.

Founded by Sanjiv Saraf, the foundation popular for curating an online portal for Urdu poetry and prose invited intellectuals from Pakistan like Zia Moheyeddin and Intizaar Hussain, among others, to New Delhi last year. This time poets Iftikhar Arif, Zehra Nigah and singers Tina Sani and the Sabri Brothers have been requested to attend the event.

Prominent names from India attending the Jashan include literary critics, poets and actors Gopi Chand Narang, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Javed Akhtar, Jeelani Bano, Mahesh Bhatt, Shabana Azmi, Tom Alter, Ashok Vajpeyi and Namvar Singh and others.

The upcoming festival will be opened by none other than the Sabri brothers with a special highlight of the event being the birth centenary celebration of legendary Urdu writers Ismat Chugtai and Rajinder Singh Bedi.

Last year the Jashn-e-Rekhta saw a lot of support from the younger lot hinting at Urdu's popularity — attendees enjoyed the richness of Urdu through Dastangoi, plays, mushaira, qawwali, ghazal singing, discussions, baitbaazi, calligraphy workshops, lectures, exhibitions, Urdu bazaar and readings.

The free event open to all will be held at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. A food court celebrating traditional Kashmiri, Deccani, Hyderabadi, Lucknowi and Purani Dilli cuisine will also be set up for the attendees.