Acclaimed Indian poet Javed Akhtar launched his latest collection at the Sharjah International Book Fair. More than 500 people crammed the ballroom on Thursday night - the fair's largest room within the Sharjah Expo Centre - to hear Akhtar explain how his philosophy informs his new book In Other Words.
“Art teaches us in very subtle ways how to appreciate everything that is beautiful about the world,” he said.
“From empathy, to love, peace, justice and solidarity, art teaches communities to be appreciative of all human qualities humans that we requires to progress in a just way.”
Written in Urdu and Devanagari scripts with English translation, Akhtar describes In Other Words as "equal part craft and equal part fantasy".
For details on the Sharjah Book Fair visit www.sharjahbookfair.com
