BENGALURU: The city’s spoken word poetry began in earnest in 2014. When Nandini Varma and Shantanu Anand, who had started the Airplane Poetry Movement a year ago in Pune, conducted a slam poetry workshop in Bengaluru. In another year, in May 2015, the duo moved their office here.
“We want poetry to become a medium of speech,” says Nandini. “We want to bridge the gap between the many languages in India.”
Janet Orlene was one of the participants in the workshop conducted by the Airplane Poetry Movement in 2014. Inspired by this platform that connects poets, she too started her own community Inkweaver.
The community has three other core featured poets -- Daniel Sukumar, Bharath Divakar and Meera C Govindan. They hold regular workshops on poetry, prose and spoken word, other than on life and art. They mix poetry with music jams at regular events.
One event organised by Inkweaver, to eliminate judgement and encourage free thought, was the Blindfolded Conversations in August 2016. Participants were blindfolded and asked to converse and share opinions with a stranger they could not see. A recent initiative from this group is the Paper Moon, where beginner performance artistes get to test their mettle.
Janet was invited to be a mentor and panellist at the National Youth Poetry Slam, organised by the Airplane Poetry Movement, which took place in September 2016.
Poet at 12
Bharath Divakar is one of the most famous and featured spoken word poets from Bengaluru. He began writing at the age of 12 in Kannada and later dabbled in short pieces and stories in English. He performed at theatre events and later fused that with poetry. He watched YouTube to follow the celebrity spoken-word artistes like the American Sarah Kay and Phil. He began attending and performing at events held by the Airplane Poetry Movement every second Sunday of the month at Atta Galatta in Koramangala.
Impressed with his poetry and content, Shantanu invited him to be a panellist and mentor at the National Youth Poetry Slam. He was also part of the #Louderthanwords campaign, presented by Campus Diaries, a student collective.
This event also featured Sarah and Phil Kaye, on their first trip to India. Bharath presented his ‘Letter to Depression’ which goes ‘Because I’ve learnt that if I stand in front of you/And smile a little/Laugh a little/Sing a little and dance a little/Be myself more a little/You will bend down, back down, bore down,/Down, down down.’
His workshops introduce participants to the art form and help poets better their art. “Do not imitate anyone,” he says, “or get carried away especially on social media platforms, develop your own identity.”
Make a Statement, Be Heard
Daniel Sukumar started on spoken poetry three years ago, when he arrived in Bengaluru. He was introduced to this form through Janet’s workshops and eventually became an integral performer. Daniel wants to address issues he cares about and a make a statement. “I never write about anything I don’t feel deeply about,” he says.
He too conducts workshops and want people to welcome new ideas. For example, he asks, “if money was non-existent what would you work for?” He was also a panelist and judge in the National Youth Poetry Slam.
Some of the artistes he looks up to are Christina Valentia, Bharath Divakar, Nandini Varma and Shantanu Anand.
In his Clowns and Rivers, he writes:
“Every night the animals go to sleep in their cages but I sit by this river washing my face/ Knowing that I have to paint all over again/ Knowing that this vicious cycle is never going to end./But this wind kissing my face is the only thing that reminds me that I am alive, That I still have a soul.”