Bazm-e-Virasat 2025: Allahabad Celebrates its Cultural Legacy with Music, Theatre and Discussion

Prayagraj: Escaping the toxic air of Delhi, we arrived in Allahabad – now officially Prayagraj. Navigating the city’s traffic in an e-rickshaw, we passed the gargoyles of the iconic Allahabad Cathedral before entering Bishop Johnson School, the venue for the festival.

By the time we reached, Dastan-e-Safaroshi was being performed by Himanshu Bajpai, transporting the audience back to the days of the independence movement. The performance traced how the Kakori Train Conspiracy gave new direction to anti-British campaigns and highlighted the spirit of martyrdom among freedom fighters.

As afternoon set in, the mood of the programme shifted to a distinctly Illahabadi flavour. Lantrani, a special stage performance, celebrated the city’s tradition of jovial burlesque delivered in the local dialect. Under a neem tree, I caught up with veteran Asif Usmani, clad in kurta-pyjama, holding a glass of chai, and charming younger listeners with his wit and Urdu shayari.

Also read: Which Hindi Do We Speak Anyway?

“Lantrani is the culture of Allahabad,” Usmani said. “People from all walks of life – sitting at chai stalls, eating paan or relaxing in their drawing rooms – speak to each other this way. It blends humour, wit and an edgy delivery, allowing you to make your point while still making your opponent laugh.”

After exchanging a few more laughs, Usmani moved on, and we soon ran into Zafar Bakht, co-founder and co-organiser of Bazm-e-Virasat. Being fellow Allahabadis, our conversation naturally drifted towards the Ganga-Jamuni tahzeeb. “Our aim is cultural revival,” Bakht said. “A culture of cruelty must be challenged by a culture of bonding and love. Allahabad’s legacy in literature, arts, music and spirituality all point us in that direction.”

The stage was soon set for another session. Scholars Badri Narayan, Siraj Ajmali and N.R. Farooqui opened a discussion on Saints of Allahabad. Farooqui traced the origins of Sufism and how Sufi saints came to settle in the Prayag of earlier times. Ismail Qureshi, believed to be the city’s first known Sufi, lies buried in Bamhrauli as Makhdoom Shah.

Listening to the discussion, the distance between Sufi mysticism and India’s own spiritual traditions seemed remarkably short.

Any remaining doubts were dispelled by an evocative nirgun recital by Prahlad Singh Tipaniya and his group. Through music, they posed profound spiritual questions and sang Kabir’s timeless answers. The night concluded on a lighter note with a poets’ mushaira and kavi sammelan.

Day two witnessed a larger gathering for the much-anticipated Allahabadi actors’ table. Local favourites Faisal Malik, Deepraj Rana, Nidhi Singh and Aaditya Srivastava were present, along with co-founder Tigmanshu Dhulia, the much-loved director whose work often draws from the region’s characters and themes. He was warmly honoured at the session.

A panel on cricket followed, featuring former Indian team players like Mohammad Kaif, who shared stories of growing up in Allahabad and the struggles along the way.

Next came a candid conversation with Jaideep Ahlawat. “We in the film industry are becoming isolated from the society we want to portray,” he remarked from the stage. Stressing the importance of reading, he invoked Premchand: “Premchand alone has at least a thousand characters. One can’t meet so many people in real life – so why don’t we read more and gain these perspectives?”

Jaideep Ahlawat at the Bazm-e-Virasat, December 2025. Photo: Indra Shekhar Singh

The day ended with a lively discussion on cinema featuring Dhulia, Anurag Basu, Leena Yadav and Anubhav Sinha, followed by stand-up comedy by Aseem Bajaj. As the cold evening set in, Indian Ocean took the stage, infusing the venue with infectious energy.

Day three began at a relaxed pace with Pakshee, a five-member band whose music explores the conflict between humans and nature and its impact on society. I then walked into an engaging discussion on Nirala, a pillar of modern Hindi poetry. Excerpts from Jago Phir Ek Baar and Ram Ki Shakti Puja were recited, followed by a ghazal session by Rashmi Agrawal, once again embodying the Ganga-Jamuni tahzeeb.

The final actors’ table tackled themes such as nepotism in cinema, small-town stories with big-ticket actors, internal competition and – inevitably – Akshaye Khanna. One panellist joked that Instagram had become “Akshay-gram.” Responding to the nepotism debate, Mukesh Chhabra said, “If my son wants to become an actor, of course I’ll do everything in my power to help him succeed. That’s just being a father.”

After the laughter-filled session, Bazm-e-Virasat welcomed a different kind of narrative with Dastan-e-Karn by Mahmood Farooqui. As the Mahabharata unfolded in the dastangoi form, hearing verses from the Gita and Rashmirathi in a blend of Urdu, Hindustani and Persian felt surreal. It was like attending a Bhagavata Purana recital filtered through the Ganga-Jamuni cultural ethos. Farooqui’s deeply researched telling of Karna’s life was both a powerful spectacle and a reminder of the fate of the righteous.

It was an ancient story retold in a distinctly Hindustani manner.

Bazm-e-Virasat’s final salute to the city came with a live Bollywood jazz band performing hits from the 1970s – bringing the festival to a fitting, celebratory close.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.