Gulzar: Neglected Poems

Gulzar: Neglected Poems is a book containing a collection of 133 poems written by Gulzar, and translated by Pavan K. Varma to English. Due to the delay in publishing, and his humour, Gulzar decided to title the book "Neglected Poems". Gulzar uses many Hindi dialects in his lyrics, and unfortunately, you will not find many dictionaries out there to help with translation to English. I thought this book was useful because the poems are presented in Hindi and English, and therefore I use it like a dictionary.

What I love about his poems is their simplicity, and his perspective of nature and everyday experiences many people usually ignore. There is a sensitivity and intelligence comparable to William Butler Yeates, and even William Blake in many ways.

Gulzar, (Sampooran Singh Kalra), is today one of the most leading and respected poets in India. Gulzar is his pen name however; he is an Indian of Punjabi descent and sikh religion. He was born 18th August 1934 in Jhelum district of Punjab, which is now on the newly created Pakistan side of the border due to the horrific British amputation of India during Independence. Like many displaced people who had to leave their homes, he took many jobs to survive and one of his earliest jobs was working in a car garage. However, his main talent was his grasp of Indian languages, and writing.

His association with the legendary S. D. Burman soon changed his fortunes, because together they created some of the best masterpieces that made the landscape of Bollywood we see today. R.D Burman was a wonderful and gifted lyricist and his creation of the song Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi Shikwa To Nahin, sung by Kishor Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar is something that almost everyone remembers even today. This was when all the great giants played together.

Gulzar is one of the most notable talents of our time. He has even won an Oscar and a Grammy, and the only one thing left for him to win is the Nobel Prize.

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