A New Mehfil

Hosted by Salim Arif and Javed Siddiqi on the second Tuesday of every month,Mehfil@Prithvi aims to highlight the joys of Urdu literature.

With strings of fairy lights around the venue and the air filled with the smell of cane mats,the courtyard of Prithvi House,Juhu,wore the look of a quintessential mehfil. Guests had no qualms about leaving their shoes at the door or sitting on the floor. It was,after all,an informal session to appreciate the beauty of Urdu literature.

Mehfil@Prithvi,a new monthly event that had its first meeting last week,saw a turnout of more than 100 people,many of who stood at the gate and peered over the walls due to lack of space. Conducted by writers Salim Arif and Javed Siddiqi,the first Mehfil@Prithvi was an endeavour to understand the origins of Urdu in the Mughal era,and celebrate the life and times of the 19th century poet Mirza Ghalib. Not everyone was familiar with his work,but the crowd couldnt help but close its eyes and nod in appreciation when Arif read out Ghalibs poetry and letters.

A good sher is like a work of art, said Siddiqui,about the language that can express complex emotions in a single line. You can feel it,appreciate it,but you cant explain it, he added.

The sessions are organised by filmmaker Arwa Mamaji and Neha Nijhara,who write a blog under the name The Urduwallahs. The duo,who recently got a diploma in Urdu from Delhi University after taking tutorials for a whole year,hope to make the language less intimidating and more fun. Initially,they werent planning to start a mehfil,but a chance meeting with Kunal Kapoor who has taken over as director of Prithvi Theatre changed that.

Kunal was thinking of starting a club for short-film appreciation and he called me to be a part of it, said Mamaji,who has worked with Kapoor on other projects in the past. But when I mentioned The Urduwallahs,he was so keen that he roped in Salim Arif and Javed Siddiqi to conduct the sessions.

The hour-long mehfil,scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month,aims to initiate open dialogue and introduce the audience to some of the greatest works of Urdu literature. With the help of poetry readings,ghazals,letters and movie clips,the topics will revolve around personalities such as Mirza Ghalib,Amir Khusro and Ismat Chugtai. We want these sessions to be open to anyone who wants to contribute, said Arif.

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Mirza Ghalib