The 'Jadu' of Javed Sa'ab!

What?

A Book Reading hosted by the leading publishing house, HarperCollins India.

When?

Monday, July 27.

Where?

India Islamic Cultural Centre, New Delhi.

Monday Blues were there no more when I received an invitation from the pioneer in publishing, HarperCollins India. A Book Reading, it said.

I have attended plenty, I thought to myself. This one was bound to be different, I realised.

Why not, when you have the Wizard of Words to give you company?

The one whose is an enigma of expression.

None other than the legendary lyricist, poet and scriptwriter, Javed Akhtar! :)

~~~ 

I could not wait for Monday evening to arrive and for the clock to strike 7. That was when Javed Sa'ab would be amidst us. As for me, I was there at the said venue well before time.

The Stage Was Set. :) 

Karthika was there too. Yes, the Publisher and Chief Editor at Harper, Karthika V.K. whom I had met later this month at the #GetPublished Book Launch.

Meenakshi gave a warm welcome to the luminary in our midst, as he stepped on stage at a punctual 7:15.

Accompanying him, was Ali Husain Mir, who had taken the onus upon himself to translate Sir's writings into English.

That's Mir, attentive to Meenakshi's introduction, while Javed Sa'ab glances at his writings. 

Javed Sa'ab was thankful to the members of the audience for having taken the time to attend the session. 

We were thankful to him for having given us the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He courteously laid out a pointer for the audience, though. That was very humble of him though.

अगर आपको लगे कि नज़्म कुछ ज़्यादा लम्बी हो गई हैं, 

तो खाँस दिजिएगा। 

There was profound poetry, that followed. 

Introspective. Reflective. Real. True. 

Questions. Seeking Answers. 

An elaborate audio recording of the same, awaits towards the end of this post. 

Twenty-two minutes of time, for you to sit back and absorb yourself in Javed Akhtar's voice, on a relaxed Sunday. 

An exclusive shot of Javed Sa'ab enveloping the audience with his interactivity! :) 

A succinct QnA followed, which consisted of reflections on the language 'हिन्दुस्तानी', the fact that there are schools to teach skills - paint, dance, music et al - but not writing. That is because writing skills develop with reading skills. 

Also, the fact that discipline to sit down and write, in a defined time-frame on a regular basis counts. 

There was also a discussion on the basis of which a language is formed. 

Javed Sa'ab opined that it was the Grammar of each Language which defined its foundation and set it apart, endowed upon each, a certain uniqueness. 

~~~ 

Did I also tell you that Yours Truly got her one-and-a-half minutes of fame too? 

My interaction with Sir also awaits your attention towards the closing of this post. 

Amid the paucity of time, and Meenakshi prompting some 'last question(s)', Javed Sa'ab wittily remarked: 

जी, अगला Last Question किसका है? :) 

Towards the end of such an inspiring evening was the customary photo-op for media representatives, which was followed by book signing. 

Here's leaving you with an exhaustive recording of the choicest writings from Javed Sa'ab's pen, which spans over twenty two minutes and a short recording of my interaction with this gem of a person. 

I asked him something concerning Zoya and Farhan, and that lent a light moment to the evening too. 

Hear both the audio uploads for yourself! :) 

~~~ 

~~~ 

जी, हस्ताक्षर तो एक उपहार हैं ही, 

पर यह एक-दो मिनट की गुफ्तुगू भी एक अनमोल तोहफा है। 

~~~ 

तहे दिल से शुक्रिया, जावेद साहब! :) 

There's Something About You, #GetPublished!

Coffee and Books on a rainy evening in the heart of the city of Delhi.

The plan sounded good. Friday was a good choice too. The weekend having just arrived, I made sure I left home on time to reach the Costa Coffee outlet in South Extension II without any hassles.

It goes without saying that Delhi traffic and Delhi rains are always a nuisance to maneuver through. Anyhow, tackling the nuisance successfully always feels good.

So, I was there at 6 PM, inside the premises of the cafe, situated adjacent to the Bata showroom in the Main Market.

I was among the first bloggers to reach the venue, apart from Anoop, Karthik and other members of the ever-so-gracious IndiTeam.

So early had I reached that I actually witnessed the seating area being arranged properly. Punctuality makes you witness the efforts being put in for a show, sometimes. :)

This was the first picture of the evening.

This wall painting caught my fancy for being artistic and chic at the same time.

The love for Coffee and its overpowering aroma was evident as this trademark of Costa. 

The outlet had sections, partitioned for those casually visiting the outlet and those attending such meets. :)

This was what we were here for. An invite by IndiB and Harper Collins had brought the IndiBloggers of Delhi under one roof. 

#GetPublished was the agenda. An anthology of ten love stories which had found the light of the day, after much anticipation and a lot of to and fro efforts from the bloggers whose stories had been published, the IndiTeam and the team from HC India too. 

Also on cards was the launch of Yashodhara Lal, a.k.a Yash's There's Something About You. 

 ~~~

Karthika V.K., Publisher and Chief Editor at HarperCollins Publishers India, was there amongst us to welcome bloggers and introduce to us, the panelists - Yash herself, Anoop and the moderator for the session Saumya, who was there from HT. 

She also spoke to the audience about how Harper had bought over Harlequin, and both the books had been published by the same venture. 

~~~ 

That's the panel for you. Yashodhara and Saumya to the left and the man behind IndiBlogger, Anoop Johnson to the right. 

Yash spoke to us about her association with HC, her journey as a writer and as a blogger at first. She was also quick to share how people end up asking her more often than not if episodes in her books are inspired from real life (or not). ;) 

She also highlighted how it was imperative to persevere and not be bogged down by the inner critic who never ceases to demotivate. 

Another interesting aspect from her journey was how she decided to take up writing, besides blogging at Y On Earth Not, which is now a domain registered in her name. 

On a  lighter note, she also shared how the basic manuscript of Trish's story took her three months to complete and how the editing took another year, thanks to HC. :D 

~~~ 

Anoop, on the other hand, shared with us the idea of #GetPublished was first conceptualized and how a half-baked transcript searched far and wide, to find the right manifestation. He also told us how Yash had given them an idea to partner with the folks at Harper. 

There was a surprise element as always - One Minute Love Stories, which emulated the JAM sessions in co-curricular activities and books published by Harlequin and Harper were up for grabs. 

It upped the interactivity quotient at the session. 

One of the authors, Meena Bhatnagar a.k.a Nirvana was there with us to elucidate how it was an uphill task to contain the stories in 3000 words or less!

The event was wrapped up with the announcement of the names of the Winners, collecting our respective copies of the anthology, and book signing by Yashodhara. 

I had my moment with the lady herself too, but it was not new for me as we had met in the past at HC's Noida office at the launch of Sorting Out Sid. 

I went home with an experience to be cherished and I must remark that this has been the most concise, succinct meet with a bang on point Agenda. 

This was one 'Keep it short, keep it simple, silly!' IndiBlogger Meet. :)