MUMBAI: Lyricists Siddharth Singh and Garima Wahal known for their screenplay write-ups in films like Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ramleela, Batti Gul Metre Chalu, Toilet Ek Prem Katha recently released a poem named Thande Lekhak on their blog. Inspired by Javed Akhtar’s call for free writing, the poem deals with issues, which our country is facing currently.
On 16 March, at the 53rd edition of Shankar-Shad Mushaira, which took place at Modern School in Delhi, Javed Akhtar recited a new, unpublished poem for the first time in public that urged writers to speak up and express themselves in today’s dark times.
In support of that, a few days back legendary Lyricist Gulzar Saab also wrote a short poem with three verses. And now famous writers and lyricist Siddharth-Garima have written a heartfelt poem highlighting the problems that plague our nation in today’s times.
Related Post
Commenting on the poem, Siddharth-Garima collectively say, “The trigger was the poem written by Javed saab. We feel a writer thrives on the socio-economic scenario of the society. In the last couple of years, we have seen killings of the torch-bearer writers who advocated freedom of speech Pansare and Gauri Lankesh. Apathy of the common man is omnipresent. People in our country die unceremoniously when a bridge collapses. This after we pay hefty taxes for the development of infrastructure. We feel we celebrate too much of the non-existent valour of the government. There’s actually no freedom of speech left in the country.”
They further add, “We write and create mass entertainers that have a social message at the heart. But the censor board strikes off any critical mention of the government policies. Be it literature or any mass media communication, it’s the writer who shapes the face of a liberated society. It’s this responsibility that we see missing in today’s creators and that’s the driving force (angst) of this outburst.”
Read poem below
Afsos aaj kal lekhakon ke paas kuch kehne ko nahi
Ab jab iss naye zamaane mein
Qalam ki syaahi paisa hai, toh aisa hai
Ke uska maqsad kisi aandhi ka nahi
Mol sirf kagaaz ka reh gaya
Uspe baney gandhi ka nahi
Lekhak ki bedi nahi hoti koi
Par waqt gawaah hai, paabandi hamesha rahi hai
Aaj ka lekhak thanda hai
Aisa nahi ke uska karm aade aa gaya
Gaay ko jaanwar likha toh dharm aade aa gaya
Jawaab mein thande lekhak ne likha
“Gaay hamaari maata hai” aur bola “chhor apna kya jaata hai”
Apna jaata hai
Ye kisaan kyun meelon door se, nange pair chal raha hai?
Mera desh badal raha hai
Election ka samay hai,
Sarr pe rakha karza shayad phisal raha hai,
Mera desh badal raha hai
Lekhak hairaan hai, uski pehchaan hai kya?
Ye naya hindustan hai kya,
Wo jo betiyan ko gaay aur gaay ko maa banaane mein laga hai?
Ya jiske gareebon ko paisewalon ne hi thagaa hai?
Web ka jaal phenko
Desh mein sabse badi sankhya mein youth hai!
Kacchhe din hain… Shauchalay hote bhi khule mein moot hai
Shukar hai, picture hall ke bagal mein hi voting booth hai!
Iss hindustan mein likhnewale likhne ke kaaran haarte hain
Yahan ‘Lankesh’ ko
Ram ke bhes mein khud raavan maarte hain!
Falaane ko bheed maar gayi
Bheed ka kahan chehra hota hai
Sone ki chidiya pe peetal ka paani
Aise kab koi sunehra hota hai
Kaun kahe mushkil mein hai desh
Kaun baney Gauri lankesh?
Sadak tooti haalat phatel
Dekhne chale 300 foot ke Patel
Ram raaj ke kaam kaaj
Karnvati aur Prayagraaj
Vikas aur Kalyan hifi hai
Naukri nahi par free WiFi hai
Aaj baat satahi reh gayi
Maharat ki nahi
Humne kahaani sabhyata ke prakop ki likhi thi
Sarkaari vigyapan ke ‘Swacch Bharat’ ki nahi
Andheron mein maare teeron ko aaj
Sab bahaduri kehte hain
Gaayab hain jalwe, gumnaam hain sarfarosh
Sarkaari bhaashan mein koi pooche
Mitron “how’s the josh’?
Waqt baitha hai taak mein lekhak
Ke ab toh tu khaulega
Tod do qalam, chheen lo syaahi
Ab nikal ke ragon se mera ye lahu bolega
