Dia Mirza on Hyderabadi Tehzeeb, Ghazals and Growing Up | Live at Jashn-e-Rekhta

Dia Mirza on Hyderabadi Tehzeeb, Ghazals and Growing Up | Live at Jashn-e-Rekhta . Ghazals playing on a cassette deck, rain on the windshield, and a father driving a silver Herald. That's where Dia Mirza's story starts. In this conversation with Atika Farooqui, Dia Mirza looks back at her years in Hyderabad and how the city's culture of tehzeeb and adab shaped who she became. She talks about how Hyderabad, along with Lucknow and Bhopal, leaves a permanent mark on a person, and shares the strict but beautiful tradition of performing aadaab to elders and guests. She speaks warmly about her Dadi, her grace, her habit of reading the newspaper front to back, and her love for music and poetry. Her Abba brought the ghazals, the long drives, and the rain. She grew up on Mehdi Hassan, Farida Khanum and Jagjit Singh, in a home where poets came to recite. She also opens up about attending a school with no grades, no uniforms and no competition, and why she believes it let her become the best version of herself rather than a number. The conversation closes on raising children with gratitude, empathy and a real connection to nature. . Chapters: 00:00:00 How Hyderabad Shaped My Identity 00:01:14 The Art of "Adab" and "Tameez" 00:02:06 Memories of Dadi, Abba, and Music 00:03:00 Growing Up with Legendary Ghazals 00:04:35 Lessons on Nature and True Wealth 00:06:20 The Challenge of Modern Parenting 00:07:01 Why My School Had No Competition 00:08:18 Teaching Gratitude and Empathy . About Jashn-e-Rekhta Jashn-e-Rekhta is the world’s largest cultural festival celebrating the beauty, depth, and living spirit of the Urdu language. Held annually, it brings together poets, musicians, writers, thinkers, and artists from across the world to create a space of poetry, music, conversations, and storytelling. From soul-stirring mushairas and spellbinding musical evenings to intimate dialogues and immersive cultural experiences, the festival is where language turns into emotion and heritage finds a contemporary voice. More than a festival, Jashn-e-Rekhta is a movement that keeps Urdu alive, relevant, and deeply connected across generations. . #diamirza #jashnerekhta #tehzeeb #ghazals #hyderabad #jagjitsingh #mehdihassan . About Rekhta Foundation: Rekhta Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation committed to preserving, promoting, and celebrating the Urdu language and its rich literary and cultural legacy. Through digital archives, learning platforms, publications, festivals, and community initiatives, the Foundation works to make Urdu accessible and meaningful for audiences worldwide. By bridging classical traditions with modern platforms and voices, Rekhta Foundation ensures that the language continues to inspire, connect, and evolve with time. . IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE © Rekhta Foundation. All rights reserved. Unauthorised downloading, clipping, re-uploading, or reuse of this content (audio/video/visuals) is strictly prohibited without written permission. . External Links: Website: https://rekhta.org/ Instagram:   / jashnerekhtaofficial   Rekhta Books: https://rekhtabooks.com/ Rekhta Learning: https://rekhtalearning.com/