How Udeesha Is Building a New Cultural Identity for Moradabad

Moradabad is preparing to step into a larger cultural conversation as Udeesha 2026, The Moradabad Literature Festival, begins on January 22. Scheduled to run for five days until January 26, the festival is positioned as one of the most ambitious literary and cultural gatherings ever held in western Uttar Pradesh. With an expansive programme that brings together writers, poets, performers, thinkers, and artists from across the country, Udeesha aims to establish Moradabad as a serious destination for ideas, dialogue, and creative exchange.

The festival will unfold across multiple prominent venues in the city, including Dushyant Manch, Ramganga Lawns, and the Jaun Elia Zone. Each space has been chosen to host a wide range of sessions, from formal literary discussions to open cultural performances. The structure of Udeesha reflects a clear intent to move beyond a conventional literature festival format. Alongside book conversations and author interactions, the programme includes poetry readings, Dastangoi, theatre, folk and classical music performances, Bhojpuri cultural sessions, and workshops designed to encourage participation rather than passive listening.

The opening evening on January 22 is expected to draw significant public attention, with performances by actor Ashutosh Rana and singer Sukhwinder Singh. Over the following days, Udeesha will host an extensive line-up of nationally recognised voices. Among those scheduled to appear are poet Wasim Barelvi, singer and actor Manoj Tiwari, lyricist and poet Alok Srivastava, journalist Saurabh Dwivedi, author Chetan Bhagat, food historian Pushpesh Pant, poet Gauhar Raza, writer and screenwriter Akshat Gupta, television personality and folk singer Ila Arun, and poet and academic Kumar Vishwas. This diversity of the lineup is representative of the festival’s efforts to integrate various strands of India’s cultural and intellectual currents through the same forum.

One of the major attractions of Udeesha 2026 will be the Grand Mushaira and Poetry Conference that will be a part of the festival. Poetry has always been an important part of the culture of the region, and the festival aims to not only pay homage to this tradition but also reach out to the contemporary poets in the region.

The objective of the festival, according to its stated purpose, extends beyond being a venue for famous personalities. Udeesha has been designed as an initiative that would fill the gap between the cultural calendars of big cities and smaller cities that have always supported literary pursuits but have remained less visible on the national map. By organizing such a big festival in Moradabad, the organizers also want to counter the notion that serious engagement with literature and culture happens only in certain big cities.

The event focuses on accessibility. The fact that most of the events during the Udeesha 2026 festival are open and free to the public is an indicator of the fact that the organizers are keen on making the festival accessible to the public. The festival is open to students, young writers, young artists, and members of the public to engage with the ideas and perspectives on literature, cinema, media, technology, spirituality, and the knowledge traditions of India.

For Moradabad, Udeesha means more than a week of performances and dialogue. It means the redefinition of the cultural identity of the city. By hosting a festival which gains national prominence but remains grounded in local culture, Moradabad shows its commitment to intellectual and artistic pursuits. For those coming from outside the region, the festival means a chance to experience a different cultural context, one which has been influenced both by the past and the present.

With the rise of literary festivals all over India, Udeesha 2026 is a festival that comes with a point of view. This is a festival that is more inclined towards listening rather than speaking, more towards including rather than showcasing, and more focused on creating a platform rather than creating a spectacle. For all those people who are associated with reading, writing, art, or are students of ideas, Udeesha 2026 is a reason for them to be present in Moradabad this January.