Salim Arif’s creative association with Gulzar spans nearly four decades, across theatre, cinema and some of the poet-filmmaker’s most memorable works. From designing Mirza Ghalib and Kirdaar to working as associate director on Maachis and Hu Tu Tu, Arif has had a ringside view of Gulzar’s creative process. He has also translated his writings into several thematic stage productions, including Kharaashein, Lakeerein, Athhanniyaan and Aamchi Mumbai.Now, with Aab-o-Hawaa, being presented at National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on October 7, he turns to Gulzar’s poetry on nature and the environment — exploring trees, rain, rivers, wind, mountains and the elements not as statistics or environmental warnings, but as intimate, living presences.In this exclusive conversation with us, Salim Arif talks about Gulzar’s enduring sense of wonder, his deep emotional connect with nature and whether art can inspire us to treat the world around us with greater sensitivity. Excerpts…Gulzar Saab’s environmental writing is deeply emotional rather than overtly preachy. At a time when environmental messaging often becomes a barrage of statistics, warnings and fear, do you think we have forgotten the power of making people simply fall in love with nature?Nature for Gulzar Saab remains a gift to humanity that needs to be loved and protected like a family heirloom. His poems draw our attention to the callous way we treat our environment with. They do create an emotional moment and response. But when nature retaliates we all face its fury, we should remember that too. The message if any is to respect this invaluable gift that we are blessed with that we take for granted. He shares an umbilical cord with nature and the plants in his home and trees on the street and forests and mountains he has been to. If we manage to make the audience fall in love with their surrounding trees, flowers, sunlight and moonlight in their rooms again, the effort would be priceless.The premise of Aab-o-Hawaa is that Gulzar ssab’s poetry can make us look at trees, rivers, rain, clouds and the earth almost as living beings. Do you believe art and poetry can actually change the way people behave towards the environment, or can they only make us more conscious of the problem?Art as an instrument of social change has been a school of thought. But I personally feel that any such effort should first fulfill the criteria of good art before getting classified with a label. Art can raise questions, draw attention to social concerns and sensitize people. But the change has to come from within. Otherwise inspite of several efforts to educate our masses, we still see people open the door of their expensive cars and spit gutka on roads be it Marine Drive or Ghatkopar. The sensitivity towards our environment needs to be cultivated in individuals and artists including poets can definitely play a part in it.You have spent almost 40 years observing Gulzar saab as a writer, filmmaker and creative collaborator. Has working on this project changed your understanding of him in any way — particularly of the man behind the words and his almost childlike sense of wonder about the natural world?Not Really…Gulzar Saab can still surprise you with the way he perceives his surroundings and that is a big reason for him to have maintained a constant rapport with several generations in the last seventy years as a creative contemporary. Instead of being cynical and resigned with despair which is common in people much younger than him, his childlike curiosity and ability to have a fresh insight everyday has remained constant and that in itself is a pleasant surprise.You have known Gulzar Saab for nearly four decades, from Mirza Ghalib to Maachis and several theatre collaborations. After working with him for so long, what did you discover about his personal relationship with nature while putting together Aab-o-Hawaa that surprised even you?“Aab-o -Hawaa” (literally means water and air ; a general expression for environmental surroundings, ie; nature)…Optimism and belief in the dignity of elements around us is a rare facet that Gulzar Saab has. Most of us know him as a poet and auteur of relationships through his films, songs, poetry and stories. My 40 years of collaborative association with him as a Designer for his Mirza Ghalib, Kirdaar and later as an Associate Director in Maachis and Hu Tu Tu has given me insight to his creativity that very few might have. His enthusiasm and effort in his preparedness for anything he does remains the same as it was earlier. In fact, with advancing age he has become more concerned and makes extra effort to get every detail right, rather than get casual as someone who has seen it all, done it all. That is a new learning for me. I have seen and shared a sizeable chunk of that time when poems and stories were brewing in his mind. My extensive travels with him in and out of India where some of his important poems have germinated still remain fresh in my mind. I could collate thematic stage shows like Kharaashein on communal riots, Lakeerein on changing Indo-Pak relationships, Athhanniyaan on street life of Mumbai from his writings and poems besides scripts he wrote on Tagore, O Henry and others.Last year, we did a show on his experiences in the city of Mumbai called Aamchi Mumbai at NCPA. As I was going through his poems all over again, I realized that he has a substantial amount of poems on nature and environment beside his film songs that have nature as an intrinsic element with nostalgia. Trees, mountains, wind, rain sun ,moon are recurring motifs and subjects of “Felt Thoughts” in his poetry. His foray as a poet in cosmos is also a rare phenomenon. This journey of creating this show has been an inspirational exercise.