Coming from a lineage of writers, Javed Akhtar—son of renowned Urdu poet and lyricist Jan Nisar Akhtar—released his first poetry book, Tarkash (Quiver), a collection of 52 ghazals and nazms, in 1995. The scriptwriter-lyricist released his new book, a collection of dohas (couplets) in Sanskrit, Awadhi, Braj, and Punjabi, featuring poets from the past to modern times, at the Jaipur Literature festival on Friday. 

“We have lost much of our cultural heritage, which is a precious treasure. One of them is the dohas written over the last 900 years by poets such as Kabir, Tulsidas, and Veera in various languages, including Awadhi and Kathaiwadi, not modern Hindi,” shares Javed. His collection of dohas is titled Seepiyan, meaning seashells that carry pearls. He adds, “These dohas capture the wisdom and understanding of life, which remain relevant even today. [In the book], I explain my understanding of them and how they are relevant. The dohas are like pearls of wisdom shared by famous poets, which we can use in our daily lives to inspire, motivate, and guide us.”