Om Books International in association with Crossword Bookstores celebrated the launch of 101 Haiku by Dinesh Raheja on 26th July 2018 at Crosswords, Kemps Corner, Mumbai. The stunning book was launched by director Meghna Gulzar (director, Talwaar & Raazi)

On the occasion, author Dinesh Raheja shared with Meghna Gulzar and the audience his experience of falling in love with Haiku and putting together the book which is an exquisite collection of three-line poems in English.

Meghna said she was enthused to release 101 Haiku by Dinesh Raheja because “I have a soft spot for brevity. To be able to communicate a thought in as little as possible is something after my heart. Dinesh’s Haiku are light, deep, soft and yet very cruel — all at the same time.  I found that so incredible that even if I were not to release the book, I would come here to take a book from you, Dinesh!”
She added, “We find poetry in the most unexpected places. Sometimes something a friend says or the answer of a child that comes from complete innocence has inherent poetry. I agree with Dinesh Raheja when he said that poetry is uplifting for the spirit. It has no single interpretation. Therefore, it gives you a feeling of empowerment when you are reading it because you can interpret it the way you want. Poetry is like a balm. My father (the renowned virtuoso, Gulzar) has come up with a form of poetry called Triveni. It is very similar to Haiku. The only difference is it is not bound by the 5 syllables 7 syllables 5 syllables format of Haiku. The first two lines are a complete poem in themselves. But the third line turns the poem on its head. He calls the first two lines Ganga and Jamuna and the third line is Saraswati which when it makes an appearance turns the thing around.”

The show was ably compered by actor and voice artiste, Mohommed Ali Shah.

The Foreword to 101 Haiku has been penned by Vidya Balan and excerpts from this were read out at the function by Zara Khan, the leading lady of Aurangzeb and Khoj, in her silken voice.

Vinay Jain, the actor of Cheeni Kum and Rough Book, read out in his baritone boom National
Award winning lyricist Varun Grover’s perceptive Afterword to the book.