AS words draw themselves closer to the rhythm of the soul, out comes a string of emotions, strung together in little knots of dreams. These dreams are then lived through a poets imagination, springing to life every time a thought is provoked. Geet Chaturvedi, a Hindi poet, opened the doorways of words when he was very young.
It helped him connect with his inner self, where he gathered his milling thoughts and wove them around the lyrical aesthetics of poem. In time, he became an award-winning short story author and novelist. At the upcoming multi-arts festival called Raza Utsav, being organised to commemorate the 96th birthday of painter Sayed Haider Raza, by The Raza Foundation, Chaturvedi is sharing with you his whimsical world.
He will talk about the background of his poems, stitching into them, anecdotes and philosophies that make them robust, besides reciting his work.
Art exhibitions, art writing workshop, conversations, film screenings on modern artists, dance, music, and theatre join hands to remember the man who always spoke of his love for the arts throughout his illustrious career. He was specially fond of Hindi poetry’s linguistic expression. “For me, his works have always been a great influence on my poetry. I consider him a philosopher who works in the realm of colours and shapes rather than language. They are a reflection on the infinity of the human mind and soul,” says Chaturvedi.
Hindi language has long been on the line of fire with English content dominating the shelves of urban dwellers.
Some even argue that the very nature of Hindi poetry is degenerating, perhaps because of the dilution of the language post Hindustani being metamorphosed into Hindi. With this, many words faded out of the vocabulary. “Hindi poetry is as powerful as the poetry of any other significant language of the world. It is experimental, visionary, emotive, always trying to speak on behalf of its people. The one thing that I feel important is Hindi poets (and readers too) must unlearn the incorrect things that they have learnt in the schools or universities. This will certainly make a difference,” he says.
Before he moves on with his day, he leaves us with the below poem: Maatha choomna, kisi ki aatma choomne jaisa hai, kaun dekh sakta hai, aatma ke gaalon ko surkh hote (translation by Anita Gopalan: To kiss the forehead is to kiss the soul, who can possibly see the cheeks of the soul blush crimson).
On till February 26. Geet Chaturvedi will be performing as part of Kavi Samvaaya during the festival, at the Auditorium, Triveni Kala Sangam. For details of other events, log on to Therazafoundation.org/raza-utsav