The subtleties of poetry and essence of authentic narrative were brought out in a compelling session with Prasoon Joshi - poet, author and Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) - on the first day of the Sahitya Aaj Tak literary festival on Friday evening.

Held at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in the Capital, the literary festival is a three-day celebration of storytelling, poetry, music and creative expression across the fields of arts.

Joshi began the conversation by posing the question on what is poetry, vis-a-vis Bollywood music.

"If you call poetry a static form, then yes, perhaps it is missing from music these days. But when you put an accusation on songs, you need to look at the society too. Do people have time to listen to poetry?

Maybe it's the generation where everything we want is instant, and there poetry becomes a bit weak." Drawing attention to the inward journey of a poet, he said: "Before a poet can himself understand, society puts labels on him.

The poet tries to understand a stream of thought, and by labeling him, you have stopped it right here," he said. When asked about his childhood memories of poetry, he spoke of how he was born in Uttarakhand surrounded by nature, music and parents who were experts in classical music.

He said, "The metaphors in my songs come from there, with words and sentences from then. I didn't know my work would be appreciated - but phrases like Masti ki Pathshala from Rang De Basanti clicked well."

Recounting the inspiration for the song Maa from Taare Zameen Par, he shared, "It is a song on separation, and honestly, in such cases it's best to draw from your personal experiences.

I remembered a time in my childhood when my mother had left me for a training programme, and I wrote it from that memory." Another big hit was the song 'Maula' from Delhi 6, which Joshi sang for an eager audience. Yet it came as a surprise that he took an entire year to write it.

"I wanted to speak of the emotion when you bow in devotion and forget yourself. I saw such a woman in the mosque, her forehead was covered with lines. I sent the idea to A.R. Rahman (music composer) and we took it forward from there."

Regarding his role on the censor board, Joshi said: "I believe in freedom of expression, and when you see the expression from a vantage point, you see the point of view of both the artist and the receivers.

It's hard to sit on the censor board because it is a tough thing to tell someone what works and doesn't."

He also narrated a number of poems, including Samjho Kuch Ghalat Hai, Tujh Mein Koi Aur Rehta Hai, and Babul Jiya Mora Ghabraye.