ABOUT BAZM-E-ADAB

Bazm-e-Adab, The Urdu Literary Society of St.Stephen’s College has been continuing its legacy of working for the advancement of the Urdu language and literature for many decades now. From the mystical and soulful renditions of Qawwali to organizing the annual Eid Lunch, which entails scrumptious Mughlai cuisine, Bazm-e-Adab deals with a range of activities, exploring the language and the culture. The society also organizes intellectually enriching talks, seminars and lectures by eminent speakers. To venerate the rich tradition of poetry in the Urdu language, the society also holds Bait Bazi and Ghazal Sarai Competition. In the unprecedented times of the pandemic, to maintain the aura and the love for Urdu in the hearts of our peers, the society managed to reach its audience through various social media and digital platforms as well. In the online mode, the society organized various social media series to celebrate the contributions of the prominent writers in the history of Urdu Literature. To further explore and celebrate the prose writers and writings of Urdu literature, the society organized Dramatic Narrations of short stories.

In the academic year 2021-22, Bazm-e-Adab organized numerous events to explore the manifold academic as well as cultural facets of Urdu language. The society commenced its functioning with a 3-day long Urdu Workshop in collaboration with Sabha, The Multilingual Theatre Society in order to provide an insight into the Urdu vocabulary, speech and diction, especially for theatre enthusiasts. A social-media series on the much acclaimed poet, Firaq Gorukhpuri was organized to laud his contributions towards the language and the literature, which consisted of a documentary on his life, a few humorous anecdotes from his life and a couple of his best known poetry. Via digital platform, the society also organized a talk on ‘Ghalib ka Andaz e Bayan’ by Dr. Shamim Ahmed, HOD, Urdu and Persian, St.Stephen’s College to unravel the mysteries and elucidate the eloquence of Mirza Ghalib’s poetry. While on the one hand, to continue with its tradition of inter-college interactions, the society organized an online Inter-College Calligraphy Competition in which a number of students from various colleges across Delhi participated and won exciting prizes, on the other hand, to venerate the contributions of Urdu writers in the freedom struggle, a Dramatized Narration of Rajendra Singh Bedi’s short story, Lajwanti was presented by Anas Arif, a member of the society as a part of the celebrations of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav’ which was well received by a huge audience. Moreover, maintaining the COVID protocols, the society organized for the students staying in the residence, ‘Bazm-e-Adab Lunch’ which entailed a variety of Mughlai dishes.

With the transition to the in-person mode, a One Day National Seminar was conducted by the society in collaboration with the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language on the topic "Urdu Shayari me Ishq ki Emai Kaifiyat” on 5 March 2022. It was a highly enriching and insightful session. The Mehfil-e-Shayari was conducted by the society in collaboration with The Poetry Society on 22 April 2022 to bring people together through the beauty of poetry. On 18th August, the Bazm-e-Adab team participated in the Bait Baazi competition - Sahitya Saptah organized by Urdu Academy, Delhi at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi. This event was organized on the occasion of 75th Anniversary of India's Independence. Our team of beginners, representing St Stephen's College, consisted of four members and was the youngest there still we managed to win the fourth prize and were appreciated and encouraged by the judges to participate more. Continuing its legacy of serving mouth-watering Mughlai delicacies, the society organised the much awaited annual Bazm-e-Adab Lunch in November. It was an afternoon filled with love, warmth and togetherness where more than 200 people relished the savoury Chicken Biryani, tender Mutton Korma, served with Naan that melts in the mouth followed by a dessert - Kheer. The highlight of the lunch was the addition of the scrumptious Chicken Stew and the unlimited food being served.

Bazm-e-Adab, The Urdu Literary Scoiety, St. Stephen’s College organized the movie screening of “Manto” in collaboration with The Cine Club, St. Stephen’s College on Friday, 29th September 2022. The movie screening took place in AV room at 3 PM. The event started with the President of Bazm-e-Adab, Nimrah Baba and the Events Coordinator, Naureen Raina giving a word of welcome to the audience. The running time of the movie was 1 hour and 52 minutes during which a break was taken and refreshments were distributed.

Manto is a biopic of the Urdu writer Saadat Hassan Manto and is a poignant depiction of the writer’s life and how his writing weaves a microscopic version of the real world. The movie is set in the time of India-Pakistan partition and depicts the anxieties and contemplation of the author about the ongoing unrest in the country and the anguish of those stigmatized by the society.

The event turned out to be a great success as 45 students showed up for the screening and gave positive feedback about the movie and the event as a whole.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL