The Hyderabad Literary Festival 2015 has had quite a promising start with stalwarts like Javed Akhtar wowing the audiences, publishers giving tips, kids painting on the sidewalks, people browsing through bookstalls and simultaneous sessions and workshops where the audiences’ questions simply don’t end…. And apart from the main business of literature, there is also a brisk sideline of interactive museums, an enticing Ahimsa bike, art installations etc. Here are a few glimpses.
Kya baat hai
“What is the difference between Hindi and Urdu?” Javed Akhtar asked the attendees at the inauguration of the litfest on Friday evening, only to answer it himself. “For most people, Jab tak samajh mein aata hai tab tak Hindi, then it becomes Urdu,” he said, having the crowd in splits. The poet and lyricist expressed his concerns about how even though as a country we have progressed in leaps and bounds, there is a huge cultural void and that people have abdicated their responsibilities to educate the youth about the literature and traditions of the country.“Even though a lot of youngsters’ today attempt to write poetry, they are unaware of the basic rules and structure of the form as they haven’t been exposed to it,” he added.
On Saturday morning, Akhtar launched his own book of poetry, In His Words where he recited a few of his poems in Urdu, with the crowd going, “Kya baat hai” every few minutes. Even while taking questions, the poet seemed to be in an abundantly good mood.“Mostly when people attend my sessions they get a culture shock as they expect only romantic poetry. But I do that only for films, for which I happen to get paid,” he said.
When a lady in the crowd was not handed the microphone in spite of repeated requests, he directly called out to the organisers. “Is this how we treat a woman in our country where we can’t even provide her a mic?” he asked, jokingly. After Akhtar’s session, it was the turn of the poets from Poland (the guest nation) to take the stage. Unfortunately, the crowd had thinned by then as most people were standing in line, waiting to get their books signed by Javed Akhtar.
