Cities have always been our muse, expressed through canvas and prose. Cities nurture relationships with their inhabitants and each one is unique in its spirit. These relationships have often been celebrated, abhorred, questioned or romanticized in writings of many. They have been described as lovers embracing all in a tight grip. They have been called mothers by some – for recreating personalities and perceptions.. Some have just wondered about their glorious histories; others remain amazed at their ability to assimilate all kinds of people and cultures... Some write about the pace, others about the race, still others extol the special place that the city has made in their hearts. The physical to metaphysical realities of cities have been captured through oral legends, tales, prose, dohas, poetry, shayari, ghazals, rekhti and more. From Ghalib to Italio Calvino; Charles Dickens to Khushwant Singh, there is a plethora of authors and poets who have personified the city and written about it in poetry or prose...fiction and non-fiction.

Centre for Contemporary Urbanism (CCU) and Sehreeti , join hands to host ‘Sheher-e-Mehfil’, an open house celebration of our sensory perception of cities through reading, recitation, and rendition of poetry, prose, and other words (of self or other authors) by people who feel deeply for cities.

The event was held on 20th August,2016, at anti social, Hauz Khas.
Some of the key Speakers at this event were K.T.Ravindaran (Urban Designer, Dean EMIRETUS, RICS School of Built Environment), Ghazala Jameel (Asst. Professor, JNU), Iqtedar Alam (Asst. Professor, JMI), Qazi Qamar Iqbal Qari (Urban Professional, Srinagar), Jhilmil Breckenridge (Poet) , Pankaj Sekhsaria (Author : The Last Wave - An Island novel) , Indu Prakash Singh (Activist and Author of the book : CityMakers: Tribulations & Triumphs -- A Saga of Heroic Struggle of the Homeless Residents of India"), J.C. Batra (Advocate, High Court, New Delhi).

We also had brilliant on the spot speakers in our open house. We would like to acknowledge their contribution of Kunal Kushwaha, Zeeshan Ibrar, Shraddha Suresh, Prabhat Chaturvedi and many more.