Godrej Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2026 was inaugurated on 23rd October at its forever-home-by-the-sea, the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA). As is tradition, the 17th edition began with “For The Love of the Word - the Anil Dharker Session,” in memory of the Founder of the Festival, featuring the launch of Three Masters by renowned screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar. The book is a collection of timeless dohas from three of India’s great philosopher-poets - Kabir, Rahim, and Vrind. Javed Saab explored the depth and beauty of this rich poetic tradition, which continues to resonate across centuries, with eminent translator Sumantra Ghosal, who rendered the book into English. Some excerpts:
One of the dohas they read was by Kabir.
“बड़ा हुआ तो क्या हुआ, जैसे पेड़ खजूर। पंथी को छाया नहीं, फल लागे अति दूर ॥”
Quoting this Kabir doha about what makes a person significant, Javed Akhtar said, “What makes you a big person? Your contribution to the world. Your contribution towards society. What have you given? You have an interval from nothingness to nothingness that is called life. What have you contributed to this human society? When he [Kabir] gives an example of the date tree, he says, despite it being big and tall it doesn't give shade to people and the fruit is so far above. It is applicable to people too. People who have given shadow and fruit, they are remembered.”
Answering an audience question on whether AI is a threat to poetry, Javed Akhtar said, “AI can be a good secretary, an assistant, somebody who can do tasks like filing a complaint with BMC about water shortage. But AI only comes close to capturing the conscious human mind. As far as anything creative is concerned, AI has a long way to go. Whether it is painting, composing a symphony, or writing poetry, AI cannot access the subconscious mind the way a human can. Like a human, AI is not called to account nor has felt any personal loss or other deep rooted human emotions. Emotions and the subconscious mind have helped humans to create art for time immemorial, a unique attribute that AI lacks.”
