Delhi, February 13, 2025: When poetry meets melody and dance, magic unfolds on stage! This year at Jashn-e-Rekhta - Dubai, audiences witnessed the spellbinding debut of Raqs o Naghma, captivated by a mesmerizing fusion of dance, live singing, and music. This approx. two-hour multimedia extravaganza paid tribute to the golden era of Hindustani film songs and the legendary Urdu poets behind them.

Curated, written, and directed by Huma Khalil, Trustee & Creative Director, Rekhta Foundation, this exquisite production blended soulful live singing, graceful dance performances, and a stunning audiovisual experience, taking the audience on a nostalgic trip down memory lane. The show beautifully highlighted the role of legendary Urdu poets in shaping Bollywood’s rich lyrical history.

"With Raqs o Naghma, we set out to bring alive an era when poetry, music and dance merged to create timeless art. It was more than just a performance—a heartfelt ode to the legendary Urdu poets whose words continue to resonate across generations. Seeing the audience immerse themselves in this nostalgic composition at Jashn-e-Rekhta Dubai was truly special. At Rekhta Foundation, we are dedicated to preserving and celebrating the beauty of Urdu, and Raqs o Naghma is a reflection of that passion." - Huma Khalil, Trustee & Creative Director, Rekhta Foundation

From the elegant Kathak moves of Shinjini Kulkarni to the soul-stirring vocals of Sarvesh Mishra, Amrish Mishra, and Supriya Joshi, every moment on stage was a tribute to the timeless charm of Hindustani cinema. The crowd was left enthralled, swaying to the melodies that have resonated across generations.

As a new highlight of Jashn-e-Rekhta Dubai, Raqs o Nagma reaffirmed Rekhta Foundation’s commitment to preserving and celebrating the rich heritage of Urdu language, poetry, and cinema.

About Rekhta Foundation

Rekhta Foundation is a not for profit organisation working towards empowering an ecosystem for regional languages to thrive in India. The foundation aspires to make a positive societal influence through –

• Preserving literary works and oral traditional knowledge systems through digitization.
• Promoting languages by building mediums of celebration, engagement and learning.
• Nurturing the cultural heritage by reviving communities and artistic forms & expressions.

Rekhta Foundation has been operating online repositories that came into existence with the aim of democratizing access [providing open & free of cost access] to all information and knowledge. This effort aims to create an inclusive knowledge society with universal access to knowledge and information about their linguistic legacy.

The Foundation has curated the one of the largest online repositories for Urdu [rekhta.org], Hindi [hindwi.org], Rajasthani [anjas.org], Sufi & Bhakti Traditions [sufinama.org] & Gujarati [gujarati.org]. Additionally, we operate the largest trilingual dictionary [rekhtadictionary.com] and Hindi dictionary [hindwidictionary.com].

As part of their efforts to promote language, Rekhta concentrates on establishing mediums and platforms that facilitate audience engagement. Rekhta organizes various cultural and literary festivals, podcasts, and educational modules on calligraphy, poetry, and more, to enable individuals to connect with the language and their heritage. Additionally, Rekhta engages with her audience on social media platforms and utilizes their advanced audio and video studios to raise awareness and promote the cause.