When it comes to expressing yourselves, rigid stereotypical norms hold men back. It is inevitable that expressing oneself is reserved for those in the arts! According to the rules set by the society, a man is not expected to speak about his feelings in a public forum. But, gone are the days when the society has a say in our lives! Commemorating the International Men’s Day, a group of city-based male poets gathered at a cafe in Halasuru to share their literary works.
Perry Menzies, owner of the cafe-Urban Solace, came up with the brilliant concept of opening the platform to these gifted men to express their love for poetry on a day that celebrates them. Here’s a tid-bit of what happened!
The event was hosted by the talented and multi-faceted Pramod Shankar who has been a poet for over 14 years. He is also a part of a famous band that mixes poetry with Western classical music – The Rickshaw Muse. He doesn’t prefer speaking on politically inclined topics but his muses linger around insightful comedy and steamy shower romance. Speaking about poetry in today’s world Pramod says, “10 years ago poetry was considered unsexy and not many came out to perform in public. But nowadays, with several opportunities, poetry is becoming sexy and fun!”
An uncanny coincidence with the International Men’s Day celebration is that, the same day is also observed as the World Toilet day. Bringing to light a tongue-in-cheek moment, Pramod says, “This is such a weird coincidence; however I associate toilets with comfort and with the World Toilet Day colliding with International Men’s day it only means that we give comfort to people around us.” to his audience.
The evening saw some brilliant performances and one that stood out the most was a sweet chronicle that poet Malcolm Carvalho shared. From speaking about the beautiful relationship with his father to proclaiming the incandescent personality of his 11 year-old nephew Malcolm managed to connect with every individual present. Following a thunderous ovation, every word that he uttered stayed with us until long after his performance. Speaking about his love for poetry Malcolm says, “I’ve been a poet for over 19 years now and I believe that honesty is the essence of a poem. It is essential for us to focus on details and help the audiences to visualise and embark on a journey with our poems.” Speaking about how poets have managed to let their hearts out Malcolm says, “Earlier poetry used to be something we wrote for ourselves but nowadays it is amazing that people want to share their stories. In a city like Bengaluru with several poetry communities, it is becoming easier for people to perform and gain recognition.”
The other performance that managed to make eyes pop and brows rise was by Pradeep Dharmapalan, the man with the deepest voice and thoughts. From his hysterical satire of the Little Red Riding hood to his sinfully awing chemistry with words, this poet can woo many. Speaking about what got him to writing poetry Pradeep says, “I was 10 when I drew inspiration from a character Fatty in one of the famous Enid Blyton’s books. His ability to create poetry ad-lib caught on to me.”
Sharing some of his wisdom Pramod gives a tip for aspiring poets. He says, “A lot of young poets do not read! To churn out good content with no punctuation and grammatical errors is what makes a good poet.”
