As dusk fell on the first day of Spoken Fest 2025 – Asia’s largest storytelling festival, celebrated poet-lyricist Gulzar engaged in a nazm-laced conversation with Roshan Abbas.
The session, focused on Gulzar’s lesser-explored literary works beyond his film contributions, offered audiences a rare glimpse into the creative mind of one of India’s most beloved poets.
In a deeply moving exchange about a poet’s relationship with his work, Gulzar shared a disarmingly humble perspective – “I have a relationship with you (Roshan Abbas) and all of them (audience) and the poems exist because of these relations. Poems come from you all and I just try to write them and speak them.” He referenced a Gujarati saying, “aa maaro dhandho chhe,” before revealing the visceral connection to his craft with the confession, “Without poems, I am naked on the inside.“
Describing his creative process, Gulzar painted a vivid picture of how he gathers the raw materials for his poetry from the lived experiences of others. “I’m a kabaadi – and I take from you all the moments you’ve lived. And on those, I ask as a kabaadi, permission to write poems. I take broken sleep of the night, collect pieces of dreams fallen from the pillow or between the folds of the bed sheets – I take them and arrange them,” he explained, illustrating how he transforms these collected moments into verses.
When questioned about his remarkable ability to craft accessible yet profound imagery, Gulzar emphasized the importance of awareness and sensitivity. “It is all around you. It’s all about feeling it. It’s on your awareness – awareness of your own sensitivity,” he explained. “If you keep your eyes open, you feel life touch you in multiple ways, and as it touches you, you will feel something. And once you’ve felt it, it’s my job to write it. And then, I tell you what you’ve felt but missed.”
The evening took an introspective turn when Roshan Abbas recited one of Gulzar’s older poems, prompting the poet to reflect on the curious relationship between artists and their past works. With characteristic wisdom tinged with humor, Gulzar said, “Sometimes, you’re amazed at your poems. Sometimes you wonder if it’s actually you who’s written it. Only old alcohol is nice, you read an old poem and you can get an allergy.”
For Roshan Abbas, who had long dreamed of hosting Gulzar at Spoken Fest, the evening represented the culmination of a long-held ambition. Their conversation, weaving through topics of green poems and neglected verses, and Triveni form of poems unique to Gulzar, exemplified the festival’s commitment to celebrating the depth and diversity of spoken word artistry in India.
This soul-nourishing session at Asia’s largest storytelling festival not only paid tribute to Gulzar’s extraordinary literary legacy but also demonstrated the enduring power of poetry to capture and illuminate the human experience, reinforcing Kommune’s mission of creating spaces for meaningful artistic dialogue.