About the Book

"‘I am a greedy poet. I keep munching life all the time. Sweet, sour and bitter moments – whatever falls from the time orbiting over my head, I keep swallowing. A shiny moment that I swallowed once was the moon, Saba’ – Gulzar Gulzar is arguably India’s best-known contemporary poet. He occupies a unique place in Indian literature as a progressive poet in a popular culture. Without compromising on literary merit or content, his poetry appeals to a cross-section of readers – a popularity that is perhaps moulded by his ability to convey the most exalted thought in an accessible idiom. In I Swallowed the Moon: The poetry of Gulzar, Saba Bashir looks at what makes Gulzar the poet he is. What is his signature style? What are the issues he addresses through his poetry and what are the recurrent images in it? Bashir also draws a parallel between the poet’s film and non-film poetry. She points out how they are used interchangeably, unlike with most other poets and lyricists, and how Gulzar thus brings literature and cinema closer. The book also includes an interview where Gulzar talks of his art and craft, his influences, his ‘copyright on the moon’, his experiments with various forms like the ghazal, the blank verse, the film song, and the form he has created, triveni. Along with a comprehensive list of his poems, film and non-film songs, this makes it an invaluable addition to the corpus of work on a great poet, one who is a bridge between the popular and the artistic. "

Cān̐da nigala gaī Gulazāra Sāhaba kī kavitāem̐

Cān̐da nigala gaī Gulazāra Sāhaba kī kavitāem̐

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