BENGALURU: Apart from working from home, watching movies and listening to audio books, Sharmila Maitra is gearing up to do something different this Sunday. “I plan on reciting a persona poetry for the online poetry open mic session, ‘The Soul Unmasked’,” she says, talking about poetry wherein the poet chooses a character and writes a poem as that character. For her work, Maitra has chosen the Greek mythological monster, Medusa.
Maitra will be joined by other poets on Instagram Live, with an aim to keep art alive and utilise it for awareness. The online event is an initiative of BananiVista, a platform launched by dancer-entrepreneur Banani Das Dhar to bring together creative minds. While the members used to have monthly meetings at different venues to showcase their talent, the upcoming meet-up has been organised online due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Says Dhar, “BananiVista is conducting an online poetry open mic for the first time. We are welcoming people across nations to participate as we stand together as a human race against all odds.”
She has also started an online video campaign, Chronicles - Inspired from Corona, to bring in positivity among people. Dhar started the campaign with a video on dance meditation, which involves free flowing of the body that simultaneously take care of the chakras as well. “I wanted to inspire all to find relief from negativity, such as depression. This was the first step I took to support people during this challenging time,” she said, adding, “I then thought of approaching others to share one positive experience that they have experienced during the period of social distancing. Storytellers, comedians, marketing executives, theatre artistes, etc are sharing mini videos on my YouTube channel to talk about their experience indoors.”
Theatre practitioner, storyteller and festival curator Vikram Sridhar feels that these videos will help people draw inspiration. “If nothing else, they can pause in between stressful times, smile, reflect and move on. In the coming days, I look to share short yet strong personal transformation stories that could give strength to many,” he says. Comedian Namit Jain too echoes the thought that people may introspect to see what they are good at and take the first step towards pursuing it. “A lot of people in India had a tough upbringing, which didn’t let them cultivate their hobbies. This is a good time to make videos and inspire positivity,” he adds.Mausam Kumravat too feels Banani’s initiative will be helpful for people to break boredom. “This weekend, I’m going to recite poetry for public awareness and spread a message to the society: Don’t panic, be cautious,” says the 28-year-old Bengaluru-based bioinformatics analyst.