Gulzar publishes charcoal sketches

Indian lyricist-poet Gulzar, who has published his charcoal sketches, says he doesn’t consider himself as an artist.

“These sketches are like scribblings that we do while writing. I am not conscious about it. I like the feel of charcoal. It is just my hobby. I am not an artist. I am not a painter,” Gulzar said. Published by Harper Collins, Pluto is a collection of short poems.

The 80-year-old Academy Award-winning lyricist says he has been making such sketches for a long time.

“I tear off many and keep some of them. I didn’t have the courage to publish it, but this time I did because the editor of my book liked them,” Gulzar said.

“I don’t know since when I am making sketches. I have lots of them. I may publish more,” he added.

The first such sketch in the book shows the rotation of a planet within the letter “P. When told Rabindranath Tagore used to scribble while writing poems and had turned it into an art in its own right, he said, “Do not compare me with that genius.”