Write POET'ential

Let’s not refute this one: We’ve all tried our hand at scribbling random musings in a rhythmic order to rustle up a poem — the concept would have taken a backseat now with notepad and apps doing the work, and the thinking for us –  but, the craze is back. So, what better time than now to pen those feelings of anguish, observations and fleeting thoughts? Hand-written poems, an event by Poetry Social Bengaluru, will see verse-savvy city folk do just that on April 22 at Bistro OUI. With an intent to take a detour from the usual, in an era where it’s easiest to put a message across through a tap;  the city is all set to go old school while letting their creative juices flowing. We find out more...

“This theme is to motivate people in today’s digital world to revive the old school way with organic hand written poems. Writing in your own diary with your favourite pen makes the poems very personal. No fancy computer fonts will ever be able to beautify your poems than your own handwriting,” begins Gadru Musafir, the main curator of the show. Given that there is no age bar, city folk from across the city will get to be a part of this event. Speaking about his expectations he adds, “I have attended quite a lot of poetry events. But, if there is something that I am looking forward to, it is that we are going to post photographs of all of our hand written poems instead of just sharing photos of poets. The unique pattern hopes to get people closer and not just connected.”

For Sudhendu Chaturvedi, an IT consultant, the idea could mean ‘real network’ at play. “We have been writing for years. There exists a romance in hand expressing the mind through pen and the expression getting absorbed  by the mind via eyes. This romance exists and I hope to see a slice of the same at this event. For me, we are closer to god when we express ourselves creatively. Of all mediums available to us, nothing is closer to our mind’s thought process than the written word.”

For Chandrama Deshmukh, an avid participant of poetry gigs and slams across the city, such initiatives sparkle a ray of hope to accustom millennials to the practice of interactive, offbeat and most importantly, offline activities." It is important to break away from the mundane rut of daily life. Poetry is a deep form of art, and can be very cathartic. Nothing can take away the charm of hand written letters and poems. I am a sucker for handwritten notes, scribbling my way through the pages of an old diary. To give away a secret, I still write poems on pieces of  paper and then type them out on screen. This event is for ink-lovers and day dreamers like me. I am super excited about it," she signs off.