A book about Sahir Ludhianvi

An early shout-out for Sahir Ludhianvi: The People’s Poet , written by Akshay Manwani and available for pre-order now. I have been following Akshay’s progress, on and off over the past few years, on what has been a labour of love for him, and am glad the book is finally ready: it should contribute to filling a gap in Indian writing in English, that of the serious biography of a modern cultural figure.

On December 18, I will be moderating a conversation with Akshay about the book at the India International Centre in Delhi: also on the panel is Gauhar Raza, the scientist and Urdu poet. The invite is below – do try to come, and spread the word to Sahir Ludhianvi fans. (Also, here are some links to Akshay’s long-form work on the Caravan website: profiles of Piyush Mishra and Irshad Kamil, as well as a piece about the 25th anniversary of the B R Chopra Mahabharata.)