Legendary lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar
Credit: PTI Photo
Kolkata: Legendary lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar on Friday said literature and poetry have not received due importance in the country’s education system over the last few decades.
Virtually attending a session on the role of poetry and the writer in times of global change at the Exide Kolkata Literary Meet, Akhtar wondered whether poetry and literature are discussed in households like other topics.
"Not much importance had been given to literature and poems in our education system in the past 50 years," Akhtar said during a conversation from his Mumbai home on the second day of the literary meet here.
"The number of readers in languages like Urdu are declining but readers of Urdu poems are on the rise. There is this contradiction," he added.
Asked the way he looked at poetry, Akhtar said it is the voice of society, the voice of the silent person.
"For every kind of emotion - love, confession and angst - there is poetry, which has its own metaphor as the message needs to be subtle," he said.
Commenting on different styles and modes of expression among poets, the octogenarian lyricist-composer said different creative people will speak differently on the same subject.
When asked whether technology and social media have pushed poets to be more direct and didactic, Akhtar said, "Life is not linear. Poetry brings to the fore perception and understatement," which is layered and a poet has to grasp the different layers.
To a query if poetry stems from revolution, Akhtar said it "may speak out the dissatisfaction about society".
Asked if he had ever wondered what would have happened if he had not penned the poems and lyrics he wrote over the years, Akhtar said, "Every system has two ways - you have to choose one or the other. Don’t think what would have happened." If he was ever stricken by fear while writing, Akhtar replied in the negative, saying, "If you have fear, you should be able to write about your fear." On writing about religion, Akhtar said one must take precautions.
"The religious minded do have their own logic and their religious belief is guided by emotion," he said.
If one talks about religion, there can be questions about moral rights, he added.