Quiver: Poems and Ghazals by Javed Akhtar

by Javed Akhtar

The poems in this collection contain the poet's reminiscences of his childhood, and regret the loss of its innocence with passage of time. They are about love, its complications, pains and joys.

Genres: Poetry, Indian Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Padmaja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a poetry person or someone who understands Urdu, however this book was a breath of fresh air 💖 the translation helped me a great deal. I never understood the beauty of poetry and now I can say I look forward to reading more.

[Shridhar Kulkarni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of some of artistic, reflection , love , moment of awakenings , personality questioning in all life poems !

A great advantage is, you also get to read a english translation of this urdu poems.

❤️❤️ A must read for reflection poem ( poems that are made in order to express thoughts that you get while you are observing/understanding yourselves) lovers.

Also, for people who like to express themselves through poetry.

[Rakesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depth of thoughts is surely to fill your hearts ! What i liked the most are the collection of poems from javed akhtar that invokes the realism and romanticism of his personal incidents mainly towards his struggling days , the fancy thoughts imbibed the gospel of modernism towards time and space and many more. I would recommend to read

Fav.lines

In hindi

Jeevan jeevan hum ne jag mein khel yahi hote dekha,
Dheere dheere jeeti duniya, dheere dheere haare log,
Neki ek din kaam aayegi, hum ko kya samjhaate ho
Hum be bebas marre dekhe kaise pyaare pyaare log

In English

In generation after generation, we have seen the same game played.
That the world eventually won, and the people were gradually defeated
'Goodness will one day be rewarded', don't try to convince me of this
For I have seen many beautiful people die helplessly.

[Abhilash Bala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the English translation of Quiver translated by David Matthews.
My fav quote is:
"She does not even know that I exist,as if
She is a sundial; I, a moment of the night."

[Madhura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine as I've read better poems of Javed Akhtar.

[Bhawana Somaaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Javed Akhtar’s Tarkash released in 1995. It is the writer’s debut book and six years later in 2001, its English translation, Quiver was published by Harper Collins. I have read the Hindi as well as the English translation and I can tell you that the book is splendid. It is a must read for everyone who loves poetry, who loves Javed Akhtar’s songs and his films. It has a preface or a foreword called ‘About Myself’. This portion in the English version is translated by Amit Khanna and it is so moving that it brings tears to my eyes every single time I read it. The book is translated by David Matthews and the poetry is about Javed’s childhood, it’s about the loss of innocence, it’s about suffering, pain and lot of complications. I would say if you are well versed with Hindi and English, read both. So go read Quiver and get your copy because it is priceless.

[ఱ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been fan of Javed Saab's lyrics & discussion for a long time and serendipitously I found this book at an old library near my house.
Contrary to it's appearance in dust & harsh paper, the poetry is quite refreshing & enthralling.
Javed saab has a way choosing the words and placing them so accurately in the sentence that the puch Landes everyone.
Hopefully, in near future, he'll write a song for my film!

[poetry_and_books7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to write and read different poetries. It gives me so much emotional strength and a sense of purpose that every good poem can make or break my day. I loved reading the book. Both hindi and english translations were too good. The editor did a very good in translating. Even the english translations were so so so good. Thankyou for making this book.

[Pradip Prajapati · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first hindi/urdu poetry book. It is very beginner friendly with the meanings of difficult words mentioned. Many poems are about the poet’s strife with life. Many of them are open to interpretation. But all of them I enjoyed.

[Vivek Barthwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banjaara has stayed with me even though I read this book years back. His discussions in jashn-e-rekhta brought me back to thiss book. An easy read even if you've lost touch with hindi.

[Farhana Thamiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of poems..
The poem in this book is full of life.. Like not only the poem about love but also its pain and complications. Each and every poem has a very deep message.
Also there are some philosophical poems that raise our voices as questions.
It's a book in which we can see our lives.

[Samir · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Hindi by Javed Akhtar:

"Geen Geen ke sikkey haath Mera khurdura huaa,
Jaati rahi lams ki narmi - buraa huaa"

English Translation by David Matthews:

"From counting coins my hands grew gnarled - and that was sad.
I lost the softness of my touch - and that was bad."


The book starts with a noteworthy self introduction by Javed Akhtar which gives a glimpse in his struggling days and the way his personal life has shaped.

The poems come in original Devnagri script followed by English translation by David Matthew. The translations have come out as close to the original as is possible. However I preferred reading in Hindi in which the poems bloom to their fullest.

Other than the depth of thoughts, what I cherished most in this collection of poems by Javed Akhtar is the wit with which he puts forth his thoughts. Quiver is a collection of poems that sees the celebrated poet writing about love, relationships, criticism on aspects of himself as well as those of the world around him.

Do read Quiver if you love poetry.


In Hindi by Javed Akhtar:

"Sab ka khushi se faasla ek kadam hai
Har ghar mein buss ek hi kamra kamm hai"

English Translation by David Matthews:

"All of us are just one step from happiness;
In every house we always seem to lack one room."

[aarjav · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the poems in this book are online at www.javedakhtar.com/tarkash/index.htm.

Very interesting especially because Akhtar Sa'ab's poems go very much against the 'Indian' grain and expound ideas of individualism I haven't seen expressed by any other poets from the subcontinent (as in Doraha - http://www.javedakhtar.com/tarkash/do...)


The sheer diversity of topics he tackles (and well) is also impressive. The fact that Javed Akhtar is a descendant of Ghalib was also a discovery for me.

[Hrishikesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure elegance. Javed sahab is one of the timeless greats, no questions asked. The translator has done a fantastic job, and very little has been lost in between. The most useful thing about this collection is the English translation provided alongside -vital for illiterates such as myself who can't read without crutches. Javed Sahab belongs to that category of greats - Manto, Camus, Ruskin Bond - who depend primarily on the content and ideas, rather than delivery. Thoroughly impressive work.

[Moinak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The name of the writer is enough in this case...

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love that this book has got both versions of the poem, in English and the Spanish translation next to it.