Word warrior

Javed Akhtar was recently invited to Pakistan for the Faiz festival, which is held every year in Lahore to commemorate noted poet and thinker Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

- JITESH PILLAAI

There's an incident narrated in Nasreen Munni Kabir's biography of Javed Akhtar called Talking Life, where he recounts how he pretended to be Faiz's friend when the latter visited Mumbai in the late '60s and managed to not only have a conversation about the intricacies of Urdu poetry with the Pakistani writer but a few drinks also. Faiz was known for his anti-establishment stance and taking a leaf out of the life of his erstwhile 'friend', Javed admonished the Pakistani government for continuing to be a state which shelters terrorists and giving in to politics of hate at the event. Kudos to him on his bravery.