Javed Akhtar Sahab shares his thoughts on the present and future of Shayari in Zee Live’s India Shayari Project!

Who would have thought that there will be a day when poetry and shayari lovers would get to see legends like #JavedAkhtarSahab, #DrKumarVishwas, #KausarMunir and #ZakirKhan share the same stage and narrate Shayaris, incidents and anecdotes from their lives. What felt like a dream was made into a reality that charmed one and all via #ZEELive’s Independence Day special – India Shayari Project which premiered on ZEE5. Themed around ‘celebrating poetry, celebrating freedom’ the special showcase witnessed these stellar poets shed light on some very special moments from their lives that gave fans the chance to know them up close and personal.

Having left poetry and shayari fans with ample food for thought, here’s some of the key highlights from the India Shayari Project.

Living legend Javed Akhtar Sahab shares his thoughts on the present and future of Shayari and making it accessible to the youth: With all eyes on what Javed Sahab had to say, the master wordsmith brought to light how Shayari will continue to exist till the time people are able to emote and feel. The real question however, is the manner in which it reaches out and strikes the right chord with the audience. As far as the path where Shayari is headed, he believes that despite the younger generation not being much into reading, they still consume shayari through electronic or digital mediums and India Shayari Project is also a way of making it accessible to youth.

Kausar Munir shares why she is yet to be called ‘Shayara’ and about women in poetry: Kausar Munir, the woman behind the magical lyrics like Love You Zindagi, Maana Ki Hum Yaar Nahin, Falak Tak among others believes that she is yet to be called “Shayara” as it’s a very big word and needs to be earned and she is in the process of doing that. She further adds that she doesn’t think poetry has any gender and neither is it true that she being a woman will feel more pain and emotions than a male counterpart. It’s all about the talent and it cannot be further classified into gender.

Zakir Khan talking about what a huge influence Javed Akhtar has had on his life: No prizes for guessing that Zakir Khan was in complete awe of sharing the same platform with Javed Akhtar’s, his presence on t and charm when the two shared the same stage at India Shayari Project. Along with sharing how excited and nervous he felt at the same time, Zakir said that he ended up clicking a picture of Javed Sahab on the sets and shared it with his father to show him what he has achieved in life – the chance to be on the stage with one of the most-recognized names in Indian poetry.

And that wasn’t all as Kumar Vishwas gave his fans a treat by narrating some of his exclusive poetry that he wrote during the lockdown. Watching him pour emotions into words so beautifully is something you certainly do not want to miss.

Watch ZEE Live’s creation, ‘India Shayari Project’ currently streaming on ZEE5.