Book release and recitation by Gulzar

April 13, 2016: The week took off with a book release and recitation session with the legendary Gulzar. On Monday evening there was an event hosted by Harper Collins at The Taj Bengal celebrating the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore translated by Gulzar, the launch of – Baghbaan Nindiya Chor – to usher in the Bengali New Year.

After the formal book release, Gulzar sahab recited poetry. He was at his best. It was so nice of him to mention my name while reciting. I missed the special show of Goutam Ghose’s new film Sankhachil starring Prosenjit as it had clashed with Gulzar sahab’s event. I will also miss the premier of this film scheduled on April 14 and 15 then in Delhi on April 16.

I will be in Delhi tomorrow and in Hyderabad on April 16. Gulzar sahab also presented me an autographed copy of his translation. Pt Ajay Chakrabarty, who was presided over the function, very aptly summed it as: “It is not just translation but a new piece of creativity in itself.”

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