Jashn-e-Rekhta: Celebrating Urdu’s rich heritage in Dubai

Spurred by the success of its 2024 debut in Dubai, Jashn-e-Rekhta, one of the world’s largest Urdu language, literature, and cultural festivals, is returning with its much-awaited second edition.

Jashn-e-Rekhta Dubai 2025 will be a two-day cultural event aimed at celebrating the rich heritage of Urdu.

This renowned festival will be held between February 1 and February 2, 2025, at Zabeel Park, from 1 pm to 10:30 pm each day.

It will feature a vibrant array of art forms, including poetry recitations (mushaira), ghazals, qawwali, Sufi music, Bollywood performances, dance, theatre, and more. Visitors can also enjoy traditional cuisine, handicrafts, and unique cultural displays.

With over 50 artists and speakers from India, Pakistan, and beyond, Jashn-e-Rekhta Dubai 2025 will be the only festival of its kind in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Prominent figures such as Javed Akhtar, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Sameena Peerzada, Khusbhbir Singh Shaad, Shakeel Jazib, Imran Abbas, Ali Sethi, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, and Saba Qamar, among others, have been invited to the festival.

Highlights of Jashn-e-Rekhta day 1

The event happening on February 1 will kick off at 2:30 pm with a panel discussion, titled ‘Dayaar-e-Izhar’. Renowned Pakistani film and television actress Saba Qamar along with actor Imran Abbas will engage in a conversation with Adeel Hasmi. The rest of the day unfolds as such:

• 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm: ‘Mehfil Khana’ —Ilahi Sufi Qawwali is the first-ever women’s Qawwali ensemble, featuring 10 women singing traditional Sufi poetry from India and Pakistan.

• 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm: Storytelling (to be announced)

• 6 pm – 7:30 pm: A contemporary musical fusion, ‘Dilli Se Lahore Tak: By Ballimaaraan—The Piyush Mishra Project,’ by Indian singer-actor Piyush Mishra.

• 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm: Khuli Nishist (to be announced)

• 8:40 pm – 10:30 pm: A rhythmic evening filled with soulful music titled ‘Maah-e-Tamaam’ by Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan.

Highlights of Jashn-e-Rekhta day 2

• 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm: ‘Dayaar-e-Izhar’ — a celebrity discussion (to be announced)

• 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm: ‘Mehfil Khana’ — a grand mushaira showcasing acclaimed poets such as Zehra Nigah, Waseem Barelvi, Iftikhar Arif, Javed Akhtar, Khusbir Singh Shaad, Abbas Tabish, Sarosh Asif and more to be announced

• 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm: A launch of book ‘Wayward Verses – Unruly Urdu Poetry’ and discussion by Sanjiv Saraf

• 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm: ‘Mehfil Khana’ — a dance, singing poetry, song show (to be announced)

• 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm: ‘Dayaar-e-Izhar’ — renowned Bollywood lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar, along with Pakistani scriptwriter Anwar Maqsood, will engage in conversation with prominent Pakistani poet Zehra Nigah.

•  8:30 pm – 10:30 pm: A closing performance ‘Shaam Dhale’ an enchanting session of music and romance by Pakistani-American singer Ali Sethi.

Jashn-e-Rekhta, hosted in Dubai under the patronage of Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nayhan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, promises a rich cultural fusion that will weave Urdu language, literature, and culture into the UAE’s multicultural fabric.

This second edition’s event promises to be even grander than the first, anticipating more than 15,000 visitors from across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and beyond, including many from India and Pakistan.

Tickets for Jashn-e-Rekhta Dubai

Tickets are available for purchase on Platinumlist and are currently available for grabs, so act fast to secure your spot.

How to get there?

• To reach Zabeel Park by car, follow Sheikh Zayed Road.

• Opt for the Dubai Metro Red Line, and alight at Al Jafiliya Metro Station. Gate 1 is just a few hundred yards away.

• The nearest bus station is Al Jafiliya, with various buses connecting to the area, including those to Dubai Mall and Jebel Ali.

• Direct any Dubai taxi to Zabeel Park; it’s easily recognizable and familiar to most drivers.

Jashn-e-Rekhta organised by the Rekhta Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Urdu literature, in India in 2015. The festival offers an opportunity for Urdu language enthusiasts to showcase their poetry and stories in various open forums.