HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Literary Festival-2015 got underway on a poetic note at the Hyderabad Public School here Saturday. The venue was packed with audience on Day One itself as lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar set the tone for the proceedings with his keynote ‘In Other Words’ in conversation with Ali Husain Mir.
Mir, who translated Akhtar’s work into English, and Akhtar took questions from the audience after the lyricist recited his poems from ‘In Other Words.’ The poet was in form and had the audience in splits with his sparkling wit and humour.
‘What was his favourite genre?’ enquired a young aspiring writer. “I think the important thing when it comes to any form, be it poems or ghazals, is what you do with them. It’s not the genre that decides the likable part but the way you treat the genre which is crucial,” replied Akhtar.
Elaborating on ghazals, he felt there was tremendous scope in their form. “Sometimes I wonder why it didn’t become popular in western languages. You can pack many different ideas. But it is very difficult to find a new avenue, something worthwhile, after masters who have already created such great works,” he pointed out and went on to add that he had tried to choose topics not touched before and treat them differently. “Whether I have taken full advantage of this is for the others to decide,” he said.
Asked if creative works translated into other languages have the same impact, he opined, “We are writing to portray or depict an idea or thought accurately and we want to convey it. One has to choose words that do not dilute the meaning or the idea and at the same time, be able to communicate effectively. We should try to be as transparent as possible.”
But he did a add caveat that transparency in writing is possible when the writer is sure of his idea. He also revealed how his innate fear of meeting deadlines ensures his ability to write in any setting. “I’m often asked this question by people on the source of my inspiration - it is terror. My mind starts working when I’m scared that I won’t be able to meet my deadline. I don’t need any atmosphere or any particular paper, or a pen for that matter. Many times I have written works while traveling but the necessary stimulus required is the deadline,” he confessed.