Aziz accused Dube of intellectual theft claiming she took lines from his poem ‘Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega’ for her exhibition ‘Three Storey House’ over a period of time. Advertised as a multi-disciplinary work of art blending poetry, dramatic literature, and visual aesthetics, the exhibition brazenly lacked prior consent from the original poet and incorporated parts of his work.
He highlighted a social media concern post saying, “This is downright cultural expropriation and theft, depriving creators of control over their outputs while exploiting their identities, in particular vulnerable identities who have been relegated to the sidelines” which expresses the sense of loss inflicted.
His friends alerted him to the progressing situation concerning the artwork at Dube’s exhibition at Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi on March 18, which he became aware of later.
Legal Action and Response
In his outrage, he detailed the scenario describing art as ‘my poem, carved in velvet cloth, another in wood’ sculpted suspensibly in a precious commercial white cube space advanced excitedly devoid of any prior disclosure as renaming and rebranding turned. To date, they have remained mute with little, if any, Accounts Responsive to his Request.
To date, they have remaned extemelty wich few or no Accounts Responsive to his Request
In that regard, Dube claimed, I quote, “I accept that I made an ethical lapse in my accounting by checking with Aamir, but not when it came to the words taken from his poem.” She claimed she tried to get in touch, apologized, and proposed a settlement, but Aziz preferred going to court.
Aamir Aziz’s Legacy
Aziz is an alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia. He is well remembered for his equally probing and dissenting poems and songs such as Achche Din Blues and The Ballad of Pehlu Khan. His poem Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega was particularly famous during the anti CAA protests in Delhi and was even performed by Roger Waters, one of the founding members of the Pink Floyd band during a protest in London in 2020.
Dube’s Artistic Intent
Dube is sociopolitically engaged through the lens of art and claimed, “I have been in love with Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega, especially some lines which twirled in circles in my head like dervishes.” She asserted that his words are what she wanted to caption and admitted that she has the habit of stating people she considers to be great in her performances.
Currently both sides wish to dispose of the problem in a conciliatory way, and as Vadehra Art Gallery provided assurances that they will deal seriously with the case, they expressed hope that constructive dialogue will take place between Aziz and Dube.
