Renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar bestowed with the ‘Mahakavi Neeraj Award 2024’

At the ‘Press Club of India’ in Delhi, the ‘Mahakavi Gopaldas Neeraj Foundation Trust’, Hindi Academy and the ‘Press Club of India’ jointly hosted the 6th Neeraj Kavyanjali Ceremony on Friday. Upendra Rai, Chairman of ‘Bharat Express’ and patron of the ‘Mahakavi Gopaldas Neeraj Foundation Trust’, presented renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar with the ‘Mahakavi Neeraj Award 2024’.

During the ceremony, Rai praised Akhtar and said, “I can say that I have been influenced by a few speakers in my life. I first mention Osho Acharya Rajneesh, second Atal Bihari Vajpayee, third Javed Akhtar for his eloquence and profound knowledge and fourth my elder brother Kumar Vishwas.”

In accepting the honour, Akhtar expressed his gratitude: “I am deeply grateful for this recognition. There have been two individuals in my life whom I deeply respect and one of them is Neeraj. If a Hindi poet and an Urdu poet are found together, understand that it must be Neeraj. Although he is no longer with us, his words remain in everyone’s minds.”

Javed Akhtar has enriched Hindi literature and cinema with his outstanding songs and poetry, earning him this prestigious award. Notable personalities present at the event included writer and actor Annu Kapoor, filmmakers Boney Kapoor and Rumi Jaffery and patron of the ‘Foundation Trust’, Upendra Rai. Esteemed poets like Surender Sharma, Buddhinath Mishra and Pratap Somvanshi also attended the program. The Chief Guest was Madhya Pradesh’s Minister of Sports and Cooperation, Vishwas Sarang. At the same time, ADGP Punjab Police and Hindi Academy’s secretary Rishi Kumar and former MLC of UP government Ramnaresh Yadav were special guests.

Annu Kapoor said, “Whether we are good or bad, we work in the field of art, not smuggling. In the last 19 years, every song written by Javed ji has carried some philosophy of life. It’s a matter of pride for us that he is being honoured on this stage today, in the name of someone as illustrious as Neeraj.”

“Javed ji believes that the story of a film connects us. I completely agree with him and I want to add that the language of the film should also be like the common man’s language. Only then does the film’s story connect with the common man, making the films successful,” said Boney Kapoor.

Rumi Jaffery said, “I am fortunate to be working in an industry where Neeraj ji and Javed ji have contributed. Boney Kapoor is my family and Annu Kapoor ji is my elder brother. Neeraj ji has written many beautiful songs in the history of music. One of his songs, ‘Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai’, is still very popular. I want to thank everyone for this event.”

During the event, there was a special discussion on Javed Akhtar’s literary journey and contributions, along with readings of some of his notable works, providing the audience with a glimpse of his literary genius. Other invited poets also added to the literary charm of the ceremony with their poems.