LUCKNOW Society, an acronym for ‘Lets Unite for Culture, Knowledge, Nationalism and Objective Welfare Society’, the host of the first ever Lucknow Literary Festival opens the day. The festival was formally inaugurated by the legends of literature & art including Malikzada Manzoor Ahmed, Padma Shri Bekal Utsahi, Padma Shri Raj Bisaria, Padma Shri Muzaffar Ali, Padma Shri O P Agarwal, Dolly Thakore.
“Qadmon Ke Neeche Phool Nahi Dil Bhi Rakh Diya,
Dekhe To Koi Lakhnawi Mehmaan Nawaziyan”
Hiroko Fujiwara is a disciple of Guru Dr. Saroja Vaidynathan. She initially studied Western Classical Ballet in Japan and came to India as an ICCR scholarship student. She has strong Lucknow ties as she learned Bharatanatyam at Bhatkhande Music University from 2009 to 2011. She will be performing Pushpanjali – Ragam Natai, Talam Adi (An invocation to Gods and Goddesses to seek their blessings) and Thillana – Ragam Behag, Talam Adi (prayer to Saraswati with the rhythm of joy)…. A special version for the Lucknow Literary Festival !
‘A Leaf Turns Yellow’ by Muzaffar Ali is a coffee table book with very readable account of sufism in (erstwhile) Awadh. Lucknow’s very own gentleman with an array of interests from cinema, poetry, music, painting, drama, costumes and sufism. His life is a constant journey of self-discovery, in whatever he does and in whichever medium he chooses. There is a constant quest to unravel the mysteries of life and to find a long-term solution to worldly strife and anguish. His interest in sufism has lead to the musical performance Jahan-e Khusrau a tribute to the sufism with beautiful compositions. ‘A Leaf Turns Yellow’ is an omnibus on the sufi traditions in India and more specifically in Awadh. It introduces to the reader the history, traditions, sub cultures, institutions and poetry of sufism in the Awadh region. The approach in the book is equally multidisciplinary and the book invites the reader to join a conversation regarding self – discovery ! Qamar Rehman, Mehru Jaffer, Jayant Krishna joins him for the book launch !
‘In Good Faith’ by Saba Naqvi is a journalistic account of the discovery of an India that at times defies belief, the India of far away shrines in quaint little places and of communities and individuals who reach out to a comman God. From the Muslim forest goddess of Bengal to an unknown facet of the Shivaji legend in Maharashtra; from the disputed origins of the Shirdi Sai Baba, to shrines across the land that are both Temple and Dargah. Her book shows how in the little pockets an idea of a tolerant India still survives. These neglected ground realities the author argues these little islands of pluralism, music, art and culture may yet provide a strong counter to fundamentalism. In an age when the idea of a religious community is determined by stereotypes and old fault lines, Ms Naqvi takes a journey across the country in search of her own identity among people, communities and shrines that challenge our nations of what make a person a Hindu or Muslim. She requested the book launch by her grandmother & writer Atia Naqvi ( also mother of journalist Saeed Naqvi ). Her uncle Shanney Naqvi, recited the Nazm on Guru Nanak by Nazeer Akbarabadi!
“Tere Maathe Pe Yeh Aanchal Bahut Hi Khoob Hai Lekin,
Tu Is Aanchal Se Ek Parcham Bana Leti To Achchha Tha”
– Majaz Lakhnawi
Known for ada and adab, Lucknow gave this clarion call long ago for women empowerment. And if this century is remembered for anything in distant future, it will be remembered for the freedom of expression and the evolving women! As one of the inaugural sessions of Lucknow Literary Festival, eminent theatre personality Dolly Thakore and social activist and educationist Prof. Roop Rekha Verma joined journalist and writer Saba Naqvi to ponder over Women Empowerment and Right to Expression. Prof. Verma remarked, “Ease of expression is certainly a powerful tool to curb crime against fairer sex. It is normalization of small violences that actually culminates into heinous crimes against women. Implementation of right to expression, thus, yields empowerment.”
‘The Virtuals’, Introduction to the first Philosophical Thriller of the World by Anupam Sinha was experienced at LLF. Anupam Sinha is an Indian comic book artist and writer, credited as the revolutionary comics creator of the famous Raj Comics superhero Super Commando Dhruva. He is also credited with steering Nagraj to new heights. ‘The Virtuals’ by Anupam Sinha is an amazing fiction as well as fantasy novel. The story of the book takes you to an unseen world of fantasy where all your questions are answered and all your prayers are heard. The book is well-written and is a page-turner in its true sense. Although the book is full of fantasies, it is and extremely great read and quite fascinating. Atul Tiwari was also the part of the workshop with Anupam Sinha.
By Murli Raju Qawwal mesmerised the audience with Dama Dam Mast Qalandar, Chaap Tilak, Aaj Rang Hai, More Pardesi Balamwa Qawwali’s. The Sufis saw music and poetry as powerful mediums to reach the ultimate beloved – God. Today, in the face of a constantly evolving world based more and more on materialistic values, it is through art and music that one can relate to a deep feeling of elation – balancing between fulfillment and a yearning for the beloved, as declaimed by the Sufi poets. The contribution of Hazrat Amir Khusru was also highlighted in the literary arena. The sufi music rejuvenated the senses in the literary festival !
Pankaj Srivastava, Pankaj Umrania & Himanshu Bajpayee in conversation with Mayank Saxena explored the world of social media as to what are the cautions, promises, new horizons that await us? Perhaps no topic in technology attracted more attention in last decade than the rise of social media and its potential impact on the youth’s behavior. The World saw a toppling of regimes, election campaigns, corporate recruitments, exam preparations, romance, friendships, music, social work, awareness programs, abuse, crap and whats not on this social network. It is believed that if searching for news was the most important development of the last decade, sharing news may be among the most important of the next. The new age aspires to move into an open world riding on this social media. What are the cautions, promises, new horizons that await us? Mr Himanshu Bajpai preferred to look at the brighter side as he commented, “Facebook has provided an ideal platform for exchange of idea. Without any inhibition one can put across his arguments, thoughts and supporting facts. This is a good sign for a free thinking society.”
Padma Shri Bekal Utsahi, Ram Shankar Tripathi, Amrendra Tripathi in conversation with Dayanand Pandey highlighted the problem that how contemporary literature stepped down to satisfy populist demands. If not any other art form, Hindi Poetry has been worst hit from the short hand language of populist poets. While populist poets emphasise on lyricism, purists lament the drift. Dayanand Pandey said, “Its heartening to learn that people confuse the term Hindi geet with Hindi film songs”. The panel stood optimistic about a bright future of Hindi Language and all arms of its literature once it becomes the ‘language of employment’ !
Atul Tiwari’s exclusive workshop on how to write a movie script. He is a veteran from National School of Drama and credited with celebrated scripts of Mission Kashmir and Vishwaroop. He took an extensive workshop on screenplay writing and re-inforced that writing is like a do-and-learn-art. One can read a lot of literature and theories, but can never learn it until one writes. He differentiated Story writing and Screenplay writing through a lot of lucid examples. Mr Tiwari stressed on the guru mantra that an art as vast as script writing is not bound by any formula, the people thus should focus on the principles provided in the workshop and create their own magic.
‘Gaon Connection’ by Neelesh Misra is India’s first rural newspaper ! He is the founder & editorial director of the newspaper. The newspaper based is based at Kunaura, a village near Lucknow. The entire project is widely appreciated by the rural fraternity and intellectual arena. Newspaper has been a great success so far ! Lucknow Literary Festival was the right plaftorm for the presentation and discussion on the unique newspaper which is intended to uplift the rural population and provide them a modern newspaper !
‘Skand Spand’ by Skand Shukla is a collection of Hindi poetries in a range of emotional spectrum. The book, penned by the talented doctor, contains human emotions and expressions bound in a lyrical rhyme. Well, the poetry composition ‘Skand Spand’ by Skand Shukla is an articulate exposition of poems that would definitely be able to lift the reader out of the ordinary and give glimpses of a more illumining reality. Indeed poetry from the heart not only engaging the reader to think but also leave so much to the imagination of the reader. No wonder ‘poet is born not made’. Padma Shri Bekal Utsahi & Ram Shankar Tripathi were the celebrated writers on the book launch.
Sharib Rudalvi, Malikzada Manzoor Ahmed & Anees Ashfaq in conversation with Reshma Parveen made illuminous panel which discussed the impact of Lucknow in Urdu language, born in North India and flourished in many parts of the country. Lucknow is a prominent place which has contributed immensely in Urdu’s rich literature. Lucknow School of Urdu Poetry is considered to be the most impactful version in terms of language & essence. Anees Ashfaq emphasized the remarkable contribution of the Nawabs for giving patronge & the poets highlighted two aspects which are sophistication of culture & sophistication of language. Lucknow’s contribution in every aspect of poetry is remarkable and that is applicable in prose also.
“Da’wa Zabaan Ka Lucknow Walo Ke Samne,
Izhaar Boo-e Mushq Ghazalo Ke Saamne”
Malikzada Manzoor Ahmed laid emphasis on the comparision of the language of Delhi with Lucknow and how the history also played an important role when Delhi was declining and Lucknow was emerging. The role of Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb is prominent since ages in this region and the beauty of language & love is evident in the poetry here, Sharib Rudaulvi explained the historical fact. He added that Taraqqi Pasand Tehreek ( Progressive Writers Movement ) was started in Lucknow and it refined many languages in India !
“Eik Zara Aap Ko Zehmat Hogi,
Aap Ke Paon Ke Neche Dil Hai”
Reshma Parveen presented appropriate sher on each of the questions & highlights, thus making it a great literary session. Awara, the nazm of Majaz is one of the best nazm of Urdu Poetry.
“Shaher Ki Raat Aur Mein Nashad-o Nakara Phiru,
Jagmagati Jagti Sadko Pe Awara Phiru,
Ghair Ki Basti Hai Kab Tak Dar-ba Dar Mara Phiru,
Ae Ghame Dil Kia Karu Ae Wehshat-e Dil Kia Karu”
An interesting discussion wherein the panel included Dhruv creator Anupam Sinha, humorous writer Jugal Mody, graphic novelist Appu Pen, Anirudh Singh & Nitin Prakash. The pictorial comics have come a long way not only in India but all across the globe. The characters are loved, adored, they inspire, bring out the satire; but have also been controversial and racial in some instances. How are comics pitched in a new world? Reacting to a comment, Mr Anupam Sinha said, “We cannot blame television or internet for the fall in comic readership today. US is a glittering example- they too have access to internet and television, but the American Comic has survived them all, Indian comic artists should catch up with readers and do some serious introspection.”
‘Hala Hala NIP’ by Appu Pen is a dark, comic ride through a mythical world and through different periods in its history – from the long-gone Oberian Age to the dystopian era of dome-cities. Appu Pen is a comic creator and artist who tells stories from his mythical world, ‘Halahala’. Appu Pen is a Malayalam word and the name George Mathen adopts while writing about Halahala. In this book he writes about a fictional universe starting from the beginning of time. He traces time into an immediate future to which people can relate to. This graphic novel tries to hint at various issues of life through its characters and the situation they are in. The narration has been done with the help of mainly pictures segmented into connected short stories leaving it to the reader to interpret them. George got the name of his mythical world while reading an Amar Chitra Katha in which Shiva churns the oceans to rid them of poison….the poison that emerges is Halahala. Anupam Sinha did the honours of book launch.
Padma Shri Bekal Utsahi in conversation with Yogesh Praveen & Amrendra Tripathi hosted three generations of Avadhi in the celebrated discussion on Avadhi. In a soulful conversation in fluent Avadhi, Bekal Utsahi talked about the adaptability of the age old language which is evident in works of great from Malik Mohammad Jayasi to Tulsidas. Yogesh Parveen lauded how everyday phrases and idioms of Avadhi complimented our life. Amarendra Tripathi lamented that inspite of being older to Hindi, Avadhi has been reduced to a mere dialect and not a language in general understanding. A youngman in the audience expressed joy over attending a full session in Avadhi and asked young generation present to recognize the language so close to our roots !
Tata Consultancy Services, Asia’s premier IT services company, developed a software tool to aide combating the social problem of illiteracy as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility endeavor. This flashed based tool works on the principle of cognition and helps a native speaker of a language learn read and write in dramatically reduced time as compared to conventional methods. TCS avails this socially useful tool in nine Indian languages free of cost. This workshop is a part of LUCKNOW Society’s endeavor to help Hindustani speaking people of Lucknow learn read and write Urdu, which was conducted by Anas Khan.
‘Yaad Shaher’, a book by Neelesh Misra was launched at Lucknow Literary Festival 2013. Neelesh connects with his readers through this imaginary city called ‘Yaad Shaher’, a city built of memories. Memories that every individual would want to hold on to, even as work-life takes over their existence. Neelesh Misra ka Yaad Shaher Volume 1 & 2 makes an attempt to re-connect you to that world. Neelesh is a popular Bollywood lyricist who has penned lyrics of movies like Jism, Woh Lamhe, Krishna Cottage, Rog, Gangster, Holiday, Once upon a time in Mumbai, Ready, Agent Vinod, Burfi, Bodyguard, Eik tha Tiger, etc. As a radio storyteller, his show Yaadon Ka Idiot Box with Neelesh Misra on 92.7 BIG FM has been a huge successs. In this show, he tells stories of Yaad Shaher, which is broadcasted in 35 cities across the nation!
Neelesh Misra narrates a story woven with songs performed by his troupe. Have you ever wondered how a bouquet of songs culminates into a story? How lyrics and rhythmic beats connect with a tale in your heart? Neelesh Mishra, loved for his radio show, presents a story inter woven with songs in ‘Yaadon Ke Safar Mein’. In typical radio style, the performance consists of songs and storytelling by his troupe, put together with a narrative recited by Neelesh Mishra. Songs performed were the selected from the movies whose lyrics is penned by Neelesh like Jism, Woh Lamhe, Krishna Cottage, Rog, Gangster, Holiday, Once upon a time in Mumbai, Ready, Agent Vinod, Burfi, Bodyguard, Eik tha Tiger, etc.
Live Performance by Faridkot Band was the major attraction and the last activity of the first day. Faridkot is a Hindi rock band based out of New Delhi. The band is well known for their mix of pop vocals, bluesy guitar playing, funk bass lines, melodic (and sometimes pompous) electronic layers combined together in a heap of musical endeavors that they like to call their own. Sometimes in love, sometimes trying to be funny and a little more loving, the band likes to play good music which might transcend the individual inspirations that each musician bring forth.
Pankaj Srivastava, Saba Naqvi in conversation with Himanshu Bajpayee were on the discussion regarding the responsibilities and regulation on media. It is often argued that self-regulation is the best system for promoting high standards, not only in media but any industry. But how relevant is this argument in an era of profits chases and higher TRP ratings? A free media represents a free society, and a free society in turns is the breeding ground of free ideas! On either side, the argument presents its own gloomy and colorful pictures of India of tomorrow. Pankaj Srivastava, associate editor with IBN-7, countered the call for full freedom with a pointer towards media working like capitalist business houses of the day. Saba Naqvi was of the view that media houses should be more responsible. She said, “We should be able to something like that and not let government interfere with our work.” Moderated by Himanshu Bajpai, the discussion brought out the need for fine balance in this critical creative field. “A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.” – Joseph Pulitzer
‘Mayan’ by A P Maheshwari is a fictional narrative about the difficulties and family bonds of his mother who is a cancer patient and what all hardships she had to go through. Mayan (mother in Rajasthani) talks about story of triumphs that his mother acheived through faith, love and determination despite all the odds pitted against her. Besides portraying psycological and emotional panaroma of a cancer patient and his family, the book also describes the pathology of disease and the treatment options available to a modern day cancer patient. Padma Shri Dr Nitya Anand & Padma Shri Runa Banerjee launched the book !
Amish Tripathi, Jugal Mody, Appu Pen in conversation with Nitin Prakash had a discussion on the reading habits of generation next which is used to everything on the move. The youth of today asks hard questions, demands honest answers and presents solutions for a better, more prosperous tomorrow. But at the same time- one sees more suicides, prevailing corruption and political disarray. Some enigma about the young minds prevail dynamic, confident and always connected – the youth speak a different language. A dialect understood by their peers and researched by the elderly marketers. Literary observers across generations ponder over this happy, optimistic but eccentric MTV generation which often behaves like a herd, but refuses to be branded sheep. Amish Tripathi explains that he do not write taking into consideration the minds of the audience, it is the conext which appeals him for writing. He adds that this generation do not accept things as told to them, they have various resources to explore the reality and new aspects. Appu Pen is a comic expert and do it for everybody and in his case the cartoon is explored by people regarless of language / region and age. He puts the content freely on internet, so that people are aware and interest is generated for the same. Jugal Mody is of the opinion that reading habits will stay but the entire process is going through a change process. Readers are now looking for new topics and the role of technology in making people aware about the globe is instrumental is making the shape of the young minds !
Pankaj Umrania, Entrepreneur and expert on changing technology trends presented an insight into the upcoming gadgets and solutions from cool watches to high end televisions working for fast communication ! In a world where mobile OS versions change before you get used to the one, individual has too many options to upgrade and choose to when it comes to technology. Literature is not untouched by the technology and tech readers around you.
‘History of Dastangoi’ by Ankit Chadha was very interactive workshop and he laid stress on preservation and revival of lost art form. The word Dastangoi refers to the art of storytelling, it is a compound of two Persian words dastan and goi which means to tell a Dastan. Telling tales of adventure, magic and warfare, Dastans mapped new worlds and horizons, encountered the unseen and protected the hero through many travails and lovers as he moved on his quest. The first historian of Lucknow, Abdul Halim Sharar wrote in Guzishta Lucknow about the proliferation of the art of Dastangoi in the city after the mutiny. Every nobleman, he said, had made it a practice to employ a Dastango in his retinue as chowks or city squares became a favored site for performance of the art. In 1928, just a few years before sound revolutionized the Indian film industry, Mir Baqar Ali died, he was the last famous Dastango of India. The connection is not merely incidental, reports of his performances establish beyond doubt that he was perhaps the last great traditional actor to be born in this country. The first modern Dastangoi performance took place on 4th May 2005 at the India International Auditorium after the recent revival of the art !
‘The Sanjay Story’ a book by Vinod Mehta showcases how a nation of over 600 million people bowed down to the whims and fancies of a Prime Minister’s pampered son. Vinod Mehta, now associated with the Outlook Group was the editor of a Bombay magazine during the Emergency, he was one of the target of the censor at emergency. The book is remarkably clinical in its approach and there is barely a trace of anger. Mehru Jaffer launched the book at the festival.
Vinod Mehta in conversation with Mehru Jaffer was an interactive session regarding Sanjay Gandhi. Vinod Mehta writes the biography of Sanjay Gandhi, India’s most controversial member of a Prime Minister’s family. As the title suggests story begins at Anand Bhavan, abode of Nehru’s in Allahabad and the kinship that Feroz Gandhi shares with the Nehru family. The book features all the facts of his emergence as a youth congress leader, his establishment of the Maruti factory and covers all the controversies of emergency period. By projecting light on the darker side of independent Indian history, book surely attracts a reader who has an interest in history, politics and current affairs. Vinod Mehta is attracted with the strong personality of Sanjay Gandhi and this is what our country needs today, he explains. Mehru Jaffer analysed the political situation since emergeny till today and the role of Nehru family in the post independence era in India.
Amir Mohd Amir Sulaiman Khan, Asif Ali Mirza, Roshan Taqui, Amaresh Mishra in conversation with Veena Talwar Oldenburg explored the most loved ruler of Awadh, a visionary who pioneered a nation on secular, artistic and progressive foundations. The last nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah remains an elusive personality even today. There lied numerous personalities behind that twirled mustache and one finds a new facet of the man behind every skill he possessed. How did a dancer, poet, playwrite and a patron of numerous art forms balanced the act of a compassionate administrator? Raja Mehmoodabad explained that Britishers were on their plan and way to annex Awadh and so the allegations were framed to defame the ruler. Wajid Ali Shah was the true reresentative of the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb and this was alarming for the Britishers as their philosophy was Divide And Rule, Amaresh Mishra added the point in discussion. Asif Ali Mirza informed us that Wajid Ali Shah is the author of 117 books and his personality was full of various aspects related to art & literature. His popularity and his contributions in various fields were explained by Roshan Taqui. Veena Talwar Oldenburg highlighted the fact that the Ramayana was being translated into Urdu under the patronage of the King and he was very interested in the subject of Lord Krishna – Radha. Naseer Uddin Shah, as an audience ask the question about the relevance of the film Shatranj Ke Khiladi by Satyajit Ray and Asif Ali Mirza answered that one has to see the movie in great detail to capture the greatness of the Jaan-e Aalam ! Anees Ashfaq, again as an audience added a point that Wajid Ali Shah is credited with the 1st drama of Urdu langauge ! Raja Mehmoodabad demanded a subject of Awadh History in Lucknow University and some institutions in name of the Great King Wajid Ali Shah !
The documentary tries to track the origin of the fish in the history and culture of Awadh and its capital Lucknow. The 15 minute documentary film dives deep into anectodes, old monuments, royal descendants, historians, citizens and retrieves precious pearls of information. The mystery behind the presence of fish motif on diverse architechture, culture and even on state government’s insignia is thus revealed !
‘Toke’ by Jugal Mody is a fun packed book that talks about a boy who is definitely not a hero. Lord Vishnu showed up on him and asked him along with his two friends to save the world. He was joined by his two friends along with his crush, two Japanese girls, an office colleague, a crow and an eagle on this mission to save the world. This book hilariously talks about the adventure Nikhil and his friends went through while rescuing the world. When someone in the audience asked Jugal about the resemblance of the title ‘Toke’ with regular Lakhnawi slang for cigarette shops, he pointed out in a light vein, the role of ‘pot’ in the development of the ‘plot’ of the book !
Muzaffar Ali, Atul Tiwari, Asif Jah, Amit Rai in conversation with Yatendra Mishra bring in nostalgia, recollect memories and salute the personalities that made it happen over the century. Indian cinema will complete 100 years in May 2013; as it was a century ago, in 1913, that the first Indian film Raja Harishchandra, came out. The landmark films of Indian cinema that have enthralled generations of viewers over the past century. Not only entertainment, this industry has yielded a new life to literature, art, culture and folk along with being an exercise in cultural diplomacy to woo the world through India’s soft power. Muzaffar Ali highlighted that a film involves lot of people with various aspects and a successful century in the same is a brilliant landmark. The commercialisation which has big impact on the film industry can lead to decline of real art, pointed out by Yatendra Mishra. Film Najma by Mehboob Khan in 1943 highlighted Lucknow for the 1st time and the journey continues till today with Dabang 2, this fact was contributed by Atul Tiwari. He also talked about the impact of Awadh in films, like Ganga-Jamuna & Lagaan who are based at Awadh but the name is something else in the film. Asif Jah discussed that the culture of Awadh is prominently adopted in cinema as this is the national culture of the country. Amit Rai presented a different aspect about the Indian film industry that it is not as per the international standards and lacking in international arena. He gave a beautiful example that if a girl has to learn acting, she should see the acting of Rekha in the movie Umrao Jaan, which is of high standard in acting !
A unique art of story telling, performance describing the fifteenth century mystic saint & poet Kabir. A story on Kabir is composed and performed by Ankit Chadha, under the direction of Mahmood Farooqui. The dastaan takes on a journey about finding the Kabir who is around you and, in you!
‘The Oath of Vayuputras’ is the third and the concluding part of the best-selling Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi. ‘The Immortals of Meluha’ d ‘The Secret of the Nagas’, the first two novels have been commercial successes with million copies sold in the span of two years and with a gross retail sale of Rs 22 crores. The Shiva Trilogy has been referred to as ‘one of the most successful book series in the history of Indian publishing’. ‘The Oath of Vayuputras’ finally reveals the root of the all evils. Shiva, the savior of Meluha, reaches Panchvati where he comes to know about his true enemy. The Neelkanth declares a holy war to destroy the evil. Series of battle begins that agitates the whole of India. In order to win the battle, Shiva reaches out to the Vayuputras who have never helped him earlier. The book narrates the vigorous journey that Shiva took to triumph over the Evil. The highly awaited and anticipated Shiva Trilogy of author Amish Tripathi comes to a spell-binding conclusion. Veena Talwar Oldenburg did the honour of launching the book !
Atul Tiwari presented a paper on the legendary poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz and the city of Lucknow. Faiz, whose revolutionary writings resonated in the per-independence India from Lahore to Lucknow, visited the city of Nawabs as a young writer to attend the first conference of Progressive Writers Association in Lucknow in 1936. Faiz was immensely impressed by the inaugural address, delivered by Munshi Premchand, and which later the watershed moment that changed the scenario of literature, arts, theater, films and even politics in India. Faiz, who had just turned 25, was young, full of verve,impressive and impressionable. And the stamp or imprint that Lucknow left on him, the bond that this city made with him was the bedrock of a life long relationship. Atul Tiwari had earlier presented this paper during the centenary birth celebration of Faiz Ahmad Faiz in Lahore in 2011. He hailed the such festivals as occasions where younger generation gets opportunity to know about the past legacy. He hails Faiz, like Manto, as a writer beyond boundaries, and said, “He belonged as much to Asia as to Africa, as much to Beirut as to Bangladesh, as much to Pakistan as to India, and belonged as much to Lahore as he belonged to Lucknow.”
“Khud Ko Manwane Ka Mujh Ko Bhi Hunar Aata Hai,
Mein Woh Qatra Hoo Samandar Mere Ghar Aata Hai”
– Waseem Bareilvi
Lucknow being one of the most prominent schools of Urdu Poetry. A Lucknawi social gathering is incomplete without few couplets being exchanged, what’s better than a Mushaira to conclude the Literary festival. A culmination of top contemporary Poets – Padma Shri Gulzar Dehlvi, Malikzada Manzoor Ahmed, Waseem Bareilvi, Munawwar Rana, Anwar Jalalpuri, Sehba Ali, Aadil Rasheed, Manish Shukla, Malikzada Javed, Shabeena Adeeb, Faheem Jogapuri, Tilak Raj Paras, Tariq Nizami, Sankalp Sharma, Faheem Rajput recited their poetry !
BOOK LAUNCH : ‘Aakhri Parwaaz’ is the Kulliyat ( Complete collection of Poetry ) of Mehboob Hasan Khan Nayyar Tilhari, a prominent Urdu poet of Tilhar, Shahjahapur. Compilation is done by Aadil Rasheed Tilhari, as a tribute to his Ustaad & book launch was done by the poets of LLF Mushaira
“Woh Kehte Hain Yeh Mera Teer Hai Jaan Leke Niklega,
Mein Kehta Hoo Yeh Meri Jaan Hai Mushkil Se Niklegi”
– Gulzar Dehlvi
listed Lucknow Literary Festival among
the TOP 6 Lit Fest of India
