In Illustrations: Celebrating the Joys of Urdu With The Wire
As part of its ongoing tenth anniversary celebrations, The Wire organised a two-day Urdu festival, ‘Urdu Hai Jiska Naam’, on August 1 and 2. The festival featured discussions across a range of issues – from the history of Urdu and translation to Israel’s violence in Gaza and meme culture – as well as a performance, mushaira and storytelling for children. You can find recordings of the event on The Wire's YouTube channel.
I managed to record some of the event through these ink-on-paper illustrations.
Calligraphy artist Zubair writes "Ummeed" in Urdu on a key chain locket.
Shivangini Yeashu Yuvraj sings Daagh Dehlvi’s timeless ghazals, with Tanish Dholpuri on sarangi and Ishaan Sharma on tabla.
Ashhar Haque’s storytelling session with children.
Visitors at The Wire’s merchandise stall.
Luchee Foodstory’s Sharmila, in an engaging post-lunch conversation with visitors about food, politics and more
Whose Hindi, Whose Urdu? The Wire’s Meenakshi Tewari in an open discussion with the audience on language, culture and what we claim as our own.
Glimpses from the mushaira session. Clockwise from top left: Poet Aleena Itrat Rizvi, Noman Shauque and Farhat Ehsas.
Ishq Urdu: Rana Safvi, Mahtab Alam and Abu Sufiyan at the festival.
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