KOCHI: The Poetry Meet at the Kochi Literary Fest brought with it a storm of young writers to the city. And with them were brought a sense of charm, poise and contemporary thoughts, born from experiences, discussions and maturity. Saima Afreen’s poetry is drawn from art, music and conversations, says the poet and novelist. Her ‘Rickshaw Puller of Calcutta’ was penned after her meeting with acclaimed painter Wazim Kapoor whose portrayal of the rickshaw pullers with their golden bell has won much acclaim. Her work was published in the Indian Literature, the print magazine of the Sahitya Academy, last year.
Similarly, her visit to the Ateheum Art Museum in Helsinki, Finland, brought her face to face with a sculpture of a nude woman who was created from one single log of wood. “There was something very arresting about the work that I sat and stared at it for one hour at least. Her head was bowed down as if in submission. Her hands were splayed across her chest. Was she being punished? There was something very mesmerising about the woman which set me thinking,” said Saima whose work was titled ‘The Wood Girl at Ateneum Art Museum’.
Saima, who was in Kochi for the Poets’ Meet, says that it could have been her reading of poets like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ghalib, Rinaer Maria Rilke, Mahmoud Darvish, Agha Shahid Ali, Sylivia Plath, T S Eliot, Octavio Pas, Jibanandanda Das that brought her to the stream of poetry.
“I guess poetry just occured to me. I had always had the tendency to reflect my thoughts on paper,” says the Caclutta raised Saima who also loves to explore mysticm, women issues and cultural connections between countries.
The winner of the Nassau Review Writer of the Year Award in Poetry by Nassau Community College, New York, has appeared in many literary fests in the country.Rohini Kejriwal, is the curator of a popular daily newsletter ‘The Alipore Poet’, which shares poetry, music and art. She is the winner of ‘Frames of India:6’, a photography competition held in Hyderabad.
Shalim M Hussain is a writer, translator and filmmaker. Besides teaching English as the Department of English, University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, he is also shootin a set of short documentary films under an Indian Foundation for the Arts grant.
Lakshmi Priya, who works as an assistant professor of English has published her poems in online and print journals, while Anuradha Nalapat is a professional artist who has exhibited her paintings throughout India. She has chosen the visual medium and the written word to explore and delve in the mind for an understanding of the self.She has been working with children, conducting creative art workshops for them under the ‘The Stillness Project’ and ‘Anointing the Unseen’.