Gulzar frenzy almost leads to stampede
Eminent song-writer Gulzar, who was scheduled to speak on lyrics in cinema at the ongoing literature festival here, had difficulty reaching the venue thanks to the crowd, which also included former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
The organisers first tried to change the venue but had to pacify the huge crowd by apologising and promising another session with the lyricist. Raje and Chopra sneaked into the crowd later, which completely ignored them, but they managed to find a stool to sit. But many were not so lucky. One cot could not bear the burden of listeners and broke. Many people opted to stand or sit on the ground even as an equally large crowd waited to get accommodated.
Convenor Sanjoy finally decided to close the entry but cautioned the minder not to deny entry to the other two speakers — Javed Akhtar and Prasoon Joshi — who managed to reach the venue only after a delay of 20 minutes.
Gulzar, however, seemed a bit reluctant to do another session but finally conceded. —PTI
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