In honouring the art, he asked whether it was a coincidence that fascist ideologies have not produced a single major poet. The question was rhetorical, yet coming after Mr Akhtar’s description of the destructive paradoxes that inform the post-truth era, it was also more than that. If love, beauty, transience, elation, the untranslatable being of art — all shimmer through the poetry, in what ways does fascist ideology negate it? ADVERTISEMENTThat might offer a way to approach Mr Akh­tar’s rhetorical ques­tion. Mr Akhtar’s question was placed in a precisely detailed context of today’s India, underlining the tragic barrenness produced by regimentation and repression.

Source: The Telegraph September 17, 2023 09:16 UTC