Literary-cultural festival: Celebration of words and bards
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad, home to king-poets and a haven for immigrant poets, witnessed a day of poetry readings, book launches, workshops, open mic, dance performance, play and more this Sunday at Phoenix Arena. Organised by Twin City Poetry Club (TCPC), the literary-cultural gathering saw poets from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and other parts of the country fly to the city to be a part of the event.
Released at the event was the third edition of ‘Lakdi-Ka-Pul’, an anthology of poetry by 42 contemporary poets not just in English, but also in Hindi, Urdu and Marathi.
After the much-awaited launch, two winners of the poetry contest organised by The New Indian Express (TNIE)read their poems. Abhishek Peri from Silver Oaks International School read his poem ‘The Hope in Nature’s Wrath’, while another winner Vidhi Sajnani from Chirec Public School read her work ‘Move, This Land is not Yours’. Their verses were based on the contest topic ‘Displaced Homes’.
The audience not just loved their poems, but gave them standing ovation as well. Their works, too, feature in the anthology.
Receiving the same enthusiasm from the attendees were poets: Rochelle Potkar (Mumbai), Paresh Tiwari (Hyderabad) and Sarabjeet Garcha (New Delhi) as the trio created magic with a collective workshop on Japanese poetry art forms like Haibun and Haiku, many responded immediately with interesting images as asked by the poets. Coincidentally, Rochelle’s book ‘Paper Asylum’ on the given genre was launched along with Sarabjeet’s collection ‘A Clock in the Far Past’.
Another breathtaking event was ‘Mosaic Existence’, an amalgamation of dance and poetry. Bharatnatyam dancer Sharmishta Vardhan performed rhythmically on poet Paresh Tiwari’s haibun while he recited.
At the same time, it was interesting to see poet Akila G turn into a seasoned theatre artiste with her group right there on the floor. Many of them were denizens of the city who gave a stunning performance on general urban and rural water crisis.
The street play Nallagantla Ke Nautankibaaz was a hit. The pithy and humorous lines of a priest interviewed by a media channel was intriguing as he asked the audience quite funnily to recite a mantra of being fools that they waste water. The comic-tragic situation on lack of water continued as calls came pouring for him during the telecast. Adding more fun to the play were natural performances by school-children, who added life to the characters they played. The audience couldn’t have asked for more.