Veteran lyricist Gulzar will release a book of his unreleased poems towards the end of this year or the starting of next. Titled Neglected Poems, the book was originally written in Hindi. Its English translation has been done by author Pavan Varma, whose most recent work was Being Indian. It will be launched at the Jaipur Literary Festival.
Confirms Gulzar, “It is a collection of poems that haven’t been published anywhere. They are based on the different reactions and moments that life has to present. There is no source or shop where they come from. They come from within and depend on how much effort you put into them.”
Gulzar will recite some of these poems on Sunday at the 10-year celebration of Essay Communication, a forum of theatre personalities led by Salim Arif, at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu. Some of the prominent members of the forum include Farooque Shaikh, Atul Kulkarni, Talat Aziz and Sonali Bendre among others.
As part of the celebration, Gulzar has also written a stage play. He merged Rabindranath Tagore’s story Streer Patro and his own, Mard, to create the two-part theatrical production, Sunte Raho. It premiered in the city on August 23 and 24. “I have adapted Streer Patro, because its subject is relevant to women’s issues even in present times. It shows how progressive Tagore was a hundred years ago. Mard is based in our time and Sunte Ho is the expression that most women use to call their husbands. Here it gains new connotations and an all new meaning,” says Gulzar.
On August 23, another Gulzar story was adapted and premiered as a play, titled, Kaptan Chacha. Only this time the actors in the play were physically challenged children from Bhopal. Says Gulzar, "I’ve been working with these children for the last 30 to 35 years since the time I had hair on my head. I have now gone bald. Many of these children are grown up and rehabilitated."
{{/usCountry}}On August 23, another Gulzar story was adapted and premiered as a play, titled, Kaptan Chacha. Only this time the actors in the play were physically challenged children from Bhopal. Says Gulzar, "I’ve been working with these children for the last 30 to 35 years since the time I had hair on my head. I have now gone bald. Many of these children are grown up and rehabilitated."
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