Festival celebrating International Mother Language Day

Bryan Beresford and Zafar Iqbal

A new festival celebrating International Mother Language Day will be held at Touchstones later this month.

The Rochdale Maa Boli - which means 'mother tongue' - Festival is a celebration of the spoken word of four South Asian languages - Pahari, Pothwari, Punjabi and Urdu.

Organised by Kashmiri Productions UK in association with Touchstones, the event on 21 February – International Mother Language Day – will feature poetry and short/personal stories shared by local South Asian talent, followed by dinner.

International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity.

Zafar Iqbal, of Kashmiri Productions UK, said: “We always look for new ways to celebrate culture so therefore we are looking forward in bringing four different communities and languages under one roof to celebrate International Mother Language Day here in Rochdale at Touchstones.

“This event will build bridges, entertain and unite people via spoken word followed by delicious Asian food. We plan for this to be annual and will add more languages next year.

“We would like to thank Touchstones, participants, volunteers and sponsors for their support towards this event.

“The festival is free to attend and as always our events are very popular so we are expecting a full house and therefore we recommend pre-booking via 07730 004498 or email mrzi@hotmail.co.uk.”

Bryan Beresford, community & inclusion manager at Touchstones, added: “[We are] Glad we are able to host the event at Touchstones.

“We are super excited for this event because of the nature of the festival, and to welcome a diverse audience to Touchstones.”