Tag: poet

  • What is truth behind Javed Akhtar’s recent post?

    What is truth behind Javed Akhtar’s recent post?

    Renowned scriptwriter, poet, and lyricist Javed Akhtar’s X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked, according to Indian media reports.

    Hackers took over Akhtar’s account and posted a message about the Indian team for the 2024 Olympics.

    The 79-year-old, who frequently shares his thoughts on X, informed his followers about the hack on Sunday night.

    Once he regained access to his account, Akhtar wrote, “My X ID was hacked. There is a message about our Indian team for the Olympics that wasn’t sent by me. It’s harmless, but it wasn’t from me.”

    Akhtar did not specify when he noticed the hack or what exactly was posted.

    He also told his 4.6 million followers that he is reporting the issue to X’s authorities.

  • What makes Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar’s 40-Year marriage so successful?

    Indian icon Shabana Azmi has revealed the secret to her successful marriage with renowned poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar. 
    “Even though we’re busy and have different schedules, we don’t meet often. But our similar backgrounds and thoughts keep us connected,” the Bollywood thespian said.

    “Our fathers were both poets and communists from Uttar Pradesh, which creates a strong bond between us,” Shabana said, adding that people always assumed their marriage was arranged due to these similarities. However, Javed believes that their limited meetings are the key to their successful marriage.

    Shabana and Javed got married in December 1984 and are nearing their 40th wedding anniversary. Before marrying Shabana, Javed was wed to Honey Irani in 1972 and had two children, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, before they separated in 1985. Shabana is the daughter of the famous poet and intellectual Kaifi Azmi.

  • Actress Madiha Rizvi weds writer Junaid Ali Perwez in the most romantic ceremony ever

    Actress Madiha Rizvi weds writer Junaid Ali Perwez in the most romantic ceremony ever

    Actress Madiha Rizvi weds writer Junaid Ali Perwez in the most romantic ceremony ever

    Madiha Rizvi, daughter of veteran actor Deeba Rizvi, is known for her versatile roles in various TV dramas.
    She was once married to Hasan Noman, but after the unfortunate end of the marriage, she has remarried, tying the knot with Junaid Ali Perwez.

    Perwez, also known as J.P., shared a heartwarming wedding video on social media, expressing love and gratitude towards Rizvi. The video showcased intimate moments from their ceremony, including Rizvi’s entry with her daughters, exchanging rings, and signing their Nikah papers.

    In his Instagram caption, Perwez wrote, “You have become the flower of my life, filling it with love and happiness that words can never express. May Allah bless us and strengthen our bond with faith and each other. I LOVE YOU @diyariz.”

    Rizvi reciprocated the love, commenting, “You are the blessing I never knew I needed, a reward from God in the shape of a wonderful partner like you. I love you more.”

    Rizvi and Noman, who share two daughters, were married from 2013 to 2022.

  • Palestinian poet Dr. Refaat Alareer killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

    Palestinian poet Dr. Refaat Alareer killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

    Palestinian poet, writer, literature professor, and activist Dr. Refaat Alareer was killed in an Israeli airstrike, announced on Thursday evening.

    “My heart is broken, my friend and colleague Refaat Alareer was killed with his family a few minutes ago,” wrote his friend, the Gazan poet, Mosab Abu Toha.

    The Israeli airstrike also killed his brother, his sister, and four of her children. He is now survived by his wife, Nusayba, and their children.

    Dr. Alareer was one of the leading contemporary authors in Gaza who settled on writing in English to tell stories of the besieged strip. He was one of the most prominent voices conveying details of the atrocities Israel is committing to global audiences.

    He had been working as a professor of literature and creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza since 2007.

    His other contributions included co-editing Gaza Unsilenced (2015) and being editor of Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers in Gaza, Palestine (2014).

    Dan Sheehan quotes in LitHub that in his contribution to the 2022 collection Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, titled “Gaza Asks: When Shall this Pass?”, Refaat writes:

    “It shall pass, I keep hoping. It shall pass, I keep saying. Sometimes I mean it. Sometimes I don’t. And as Gaza keeps gasping for life, we struggle for it to pass, we have no choice but to fight back and to tell her stories. For Palestine.”

    He was also one of the founders of We Are Not Numbers, a nonprofit organisation founded in Gaza following the 2014 Israeli attack and devoted himself to establishing “a new generation of Palestinian writers and thinkers who can bring together a profound change to the Palestinian cause.”

    In November, Alareer published a poem on X entitled “If I must die” that was shared tens of thousands of times. It concludes with the words: “If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale.”

    Via his X (formerly Twitter) account, “Refaat in Gaza“, Dr. Alareer also openly condemned Israeli atrocities being committed in Gaza and was also vocal against the US who has been supporting Israel in its operations.

    Remembering Refaat

    The announcement of Dr. Refaat Alareer’s death evoked a cascade of sorrow and anguish across social media, shared by his friends, colleagues, former students, and followers:

  • Poet Rupi Kaur rejects White House invitation for Diwali citing ‘genocide’ of Palestinians

    Canadian poet and illustrator Rupi Kaur has released a statement on her X account, announcing that she rejected an invitation from the White House for Diwali. In her statement, the ‘Milk And Honey’ writer said she rejected the invite because of USA’s active participation in the genocide of Gaza.

    The Palestinian death toll has risen to 10,000 since Israel begun it’s bombardment of the Gaza strip.

    “Today, the American government is not only funding the bombardment of Gaza, they continue to justify this genocide against Palestinians- regardless of how many refugee camps, health facilities, and places of worship are blown to bits. They reject the call for a humanitarian ceasefire- a baseline action being demanded by the United Nations, organisations like Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross and a majority of countries. The UN says 70% of the dead are women and children. We have seen Israel use phosphorus bombs, which Amnesty International says must be investigated as a war crime. We’ve seen footage on CNN of Israeli settlers kicking out and occupying the homes of Palestinians in the West Bank.”

    “As a community,” Rupi further urges. “We cannot remain silent or agreeable just to get a seat at the table. It comes at too high a cost to human life. Many of my contemporaries have told me in private that what’s happening in Gaza is awful, but they aren’t going to risk their livelihood or “a chance at creating change from the inside”. There is no magical change that will happen from being on the inside. We must be brave. We must not be tokenized by their photo-ops. The privilege we lose from speaking up is nothing compared to what Palestinians lose each day because this administration rejects a ceasefire.”

    Social media users applauded Rupi’s heroic stance against the White House. With many Gazan’s like Palestinian academic Refaat writing:

    “Thank you from Gaza.”

    “This is principle, solidarity, and love in action. If only other writers, actors, “activists” and public figures from South Asia and the Middle East had Rupi’s courage and heart,” Fatima Bhutto wrote.

  • 120-year-old chocolate found in poet’s personal belongings

    120-year-old chocolate found in poet’s personal belongings

    A 120-year-old box of chocolate has been found from the personal collection of the late poet and journalist A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson by the staff at the National Library of Australia (NLA).

    Conservators at the NLA unearthed the sweet treats in a souvenir chocolate tin that was given to soldiers by Queen Victoria during the Boer War.

    The discovery was made by the library staff while unpacking the contents of the poet who wrote Waltzing Matilda and The Man from Snowy River. The purpose of unpacking the box that has the poet’s papers was to digitize the contents and make them available online.

    According to the National Library of Australia (NLA), the souvenir tin was commissioned by Queen Victoria and sent to South Africa during the Boer War as a gift to troops serving on the front.

    It is believed that the poet had brought the chocolates from a soldier while serving as a war correspondent in South Africa for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for nearly a year starting in October 1899 before returning to Australia.

    The NLA conservator told that there was quite an interesting smell when they were unpacked.

    Paterson’s papers were passed on by his family after his death in 1941. However, the poet never referenced the chocolate bar in his writing.