A memorable evening of shayaris and poetry

Kacchi doriyon, doriyon, doriyon se
Mainu tu baandh le
Pakki yaariyon, yaariyon, yaariyon mein
Honde na faasley
Eh naraazgi kaagzi saari teri
Mere sohneya sunn le meri
Dil diyan gallan…
Shradha Agarwaal, life coach and entrepreneur, rendered these lines penned by celebrated Bollywood lyricist and poet Irshad Kamil from the Salman Khan-starrer Tiger Zinda Hai as she started the conversation with Irshad in Ek Mulakat — a Prabha Khaitan Foundation initiative, presented by Shree Cement Ltd and Ehsaas Women Kolkata — at Hyatt Regency on Friday.

What followed was an evening packed with shayaris, anecdotes about how Irshad discovered his flair for writing and his strong bond of friendship with filmmaker Imtiaz Ali that dates back to the time when they both hadn’t entered Bollywood.

“Itne gehre alfaz… dil ko chhu dene wali yeh baatein jab aap itni khoobsoorti se kuchh hi shabdo mein kahe jate hai… I want to know Irshadji ke apko rishton ki bareeki ki samajh kahan se aati hai,” asked Shradha. To this, Irshad replied, “Mujhe thokrein khake samajh ayi. But this is not the complete truth. Shayad maine kuchh logon ko thokrein mari bhi hongi, baad mein thokrein maar ke pachhtaya bhi hunga, tab mujhe samajh mein aya ke thokar lagne se aur thokar khane se kya ehsaas hota hai.”

While talking about romance in his songs or how to express one’s feelings through words, Irshad shared a story during his college time when he used to write love letters on behalf of his friend. He said, “That was a time when we didn’t have internet in our lives and so, written words were very precious. Mujhe hamesha se laga hai ki mohabbat aur romance ka sabse khoobsurat den love letters hi hai.”

Culturist Sundeep Bhutoria, the man behind the initiative, said, “Irshad Kamil is one of the most powerful pens for lyrics today. Listening to poems written by him was an amazing treat at the event.”