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Jashn-e-Rekhta, the Rekhta Foundation's festival of Urdu language and literature, is back for its 11th edition from January 29 to 31, 2027. Eleven editions in, this is one of the reasons why you’ll often find Delhi winters celebrated in the form of a couplet.
After a decade of programming, Jashn-e-Rekhta has become something of a meeting point for Urdu lovers, poets, writers, and musicians. The festival has changed addresses over the years, with Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium among them, consistently drawing over a lakh of people. The landmark 10th edition ran from December 5 to 7, 2025 at Baansera Park, an open-air setting that suits a festival built on mushairas and ghazals, with 300 artists and 35 sessions across four stages.
In 2027, the festival will return to Baansera Park.
The lineup is still under wraps. But one already knows to expect poetry, music and literary conversations, and we’ve been told details on the programme and participating artists will follow closely.
More about Jashn-e-Rekhta
Jashn-e-Rekhta started small. The first edition in 2015 was held at the India International Centre, with the idea of taking Urdu out of books and presenting it as something lived and performed, and it recorded about 15,000 visitors. It is the flagship event of the Rekhta Foundation, founded by Sanjiv Saraf, a non-profit that runs a free online resource for Urdu poetry and literature. Growth since then has been steady. The 10th edition in December 2025 drew more than 1.5 lakh visitors. The festival has also travelled abroad: Dubai hosted the third UAE edition at Zabeel Park in February 2026
The details
When: January 29-31, 2027
Where: Baansera Park, Block A, Ganga Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan, New Delhi
Organised by: Rekhta Foundation
Tickets: TBA