At the recently concluded literature festival at the NCPA, poet, lyricist and filmmaker Gulzar saab took the audience on a poetic journey through Mumbai, a city that has shaped his writing as much as he has chronicled its many moods. In a conversation titled Ek Shayar Iss Sheher Mein: A Poet’s Love Letter to His City, with translator Dr Rakhshanda Jalil and screenwriter-lyricist Kausar Munir as chair, Gulzar read from, ‘Aamchi Mumbai: My City in Stories and Poems’. Written in Urdu and translated into English by Jalil, the book captures his enduring relationship with the city through its changing identity, people, seasons and the realities of migrant life. The session offered a Mumbai darshan through the words of a poet who has made the city an inseparable part of his creative journey.‘YEH SHAHAR MERA PARTNER HAI’Explaining why he chose the word aamchi for the title, Gulzar traced it to Mumbai’s linguistic and cultural history, recalling the slogan that emerged during the debate over the capital of Maharashtra. “Bambai mein mushkil yeh hai ki aap kisi bhi zuban mein baat karein, aap bade conveniently reh letein hain. But I wish ke aisa na hota. Agar Bambai mein Marathi na bole aapka guzara na hota toh bada accha hota, kyonki fir aap badi jaldi Marathi seekh jaatein. Decades ago, when they were deciding what should be the capital of Maharashtra on the basis of language, there was a slogan: ‘Mumbai konachi?’ And the answer was: ‘Mumbai aamchi.’ Aur maine ‘Aamchi Mumbai wahan se chuna.”For Gulzar, however, the title is also deeply personal. The city is not merely the backdrop to his work but a collaborator that has influenced his stories, poetry and understanding of life. “Meri shayari, kahaniyaan, aur jo kuch maine yahan sikha, Babmbai ke saath hissa liya, yeh shahar mera partner hai. Yeh meri Mumbai lagti hai mujhe.”‘MUMBAI KA NAMAK ADAA KARNA PADTA HAI’Reflecting on how Mumbai has influenced his writing, Gulzar spoke of growing and evolving alongside the city. Its atmosphere, he suggested, leaves a distinct flavour on those who live in it – one that finds its way into their work and their interactions with people. “I have learnt and changed with Mumbai. Iske saath saath hum sikhtein bhi rahein, badalte bhi rahein. Lekin Mumbai ka namak chakha hai yahan ki hawa mein, yahan ke samadar se udti hui jo aati hai. Uss namak ke hum kayal hain. Woah toh adaa karna padta hai. Agar namak chakh liya hai, toh aapki cheezein bhi namkeen ho jaati hain. Bahar bhi ghoomte hain toh log bhi namkeen lagte hain. Main uss namak ko kaise adaa karta, aur koi tarika nahi tha… I wanted to pay homage to this ‘namkeen’.”
‘For a translator, capturing the essence of his writing and his voice is very challenging’
On the challenge of translating Gulzar Saab’s voice, at the 17th edition of Godrej Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2026, Rakhshanda Jalil said, “Two distinct features of Gulzar Saab’s work are imagery and the way he talks through images and his voice. He has a childlike quality, a whimsicality of his own. For a translator, capturing this essence is very challenging. It is not just about craft or vocabulary. His voice is very distinctive.”‘Gulzar saab doesn’t see the city only through rose-tinted glasses’Talking about the city that emerges from Gulzar Saab’s writing, Kausar Munir said, “Socialism, realism, political consciousness, environmental concerns, all of this comes through in Gulzar Saab’s work. This new work isn’t just a romantic love letter to the city. There is a truth to it, there is a lived reality to it rather than a romanticised version of Mumbai. Gulzar saab doesn’t see the city only through rose-tinted glasses.”
