Where rhyme's enough reason

Starting today, all roads in the city will lead to the first edition of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival – to celebrate an unbridled love for verse!

Pegged as a convergence of the Literati and connoisseurs of poetry, the concept aims to nurture the poetic expression of thought and cherish its essence.

A showcase and a recital of classics, renowned artistes like Javed Akhtar, Varun Gandhi, Teejan Bai, Shinie Antony will be coming to Bengaluru to share the stage with over 60 poets from across the country — to stage their passion for a dying art. We delve deeper as they tell us more...

Speaking about how the art of poetry is nothing, but, an encapsulation of some of the inner depths of the mind, Javed Akhtar opines, “There is a no man’s land between the conscious and sub-conscious mind. This is where poetry grows in some minds.”

The seasoned lyricist, poet and script writer will be reading a selection of poetry by his grandfather and seasoned poet Muztar Khairabadi. As a city brimming with artistes, the initiative is a bid to invoke the dormant artiste in oneself.

Stating the need for a leeway to encourage art, Varun Gandhi shares, “It is perhaps a complete dichotomy that one’s poetry, a dialogue between self and soul,’  which achieves closure, and truly enhances itself when it sheds its self-consciousness and allows itself to become a bridge, allowing others in and going where it has never been before. I thank the festival for the privilege of being able to share some of my work — especially the silences in my verses. It is what we really need to keep the creative spirit going.”

The two-day extravaganza will have works from poets coming together to share their love for poetry; regardless of the language and message.

Enthusing how the city has always welcomed artistes with open arms, Salma, a Tamil poet, says, “I’ve been performing for a while, and this is my visit to the city after two years! I’m always happy to perform in Bengaluru as the crowd is very receptive to conventional and unconventional forms of art.”

Conceding how the idea of reviving a dying art is indeed a breakthrough for everyone out there with an artistic flair, K. Satchidanandan, another artiste who will be performing at the venue reveals, “Poetry is the densest and the most passionate articulation of human angst  and resistance in a world that is becoming increasingly inhuman. I’m grateful that we’ve arrived at a stage where we have begun to acknowledge the importance of words from the heart.”

The Bengaluru Poetry Festival is being held on August 6 and 7 at the Leela Palace.