It was in January that Walking Book Fairs made a stop at Goa, and I was thrilled...mainly because
- in an age and time where Poetry is losing its glory, here were this young duo (Shatabdi Mishra and Akshaya Bahibala) who were trying their level best to reignite interest and resuscitate it back to life.
- ‘Poems on the road’ was not just a casual and fun approach but also a earnest attempt at making poetry more accessible, more approachable.
| The van that became poetry |
For the uninitiated, Poems on the road was basically a two month long ‘Pan India’ road trip by Walking book fairs, covering a distance of 10,000 kms, in 20 states, and 30 cities.
From December to February, it covered Sambalpur, Raipur, Khammam, Hyderabad, Anantapur, Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Kochi, Goa, Pune, Mumbai, Indore, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Delhi, Sonipat, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Greater Noida, Agra, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi and provided a democratic platform for people to express their views freely.
With over 500 poetry titles stacked in the back of their minivan, this duo set out with the sole aim to promote poetry.
| The lovely collection |
What ensued were wonderful interactions where poetry connoisseurs got together to express their thoughts and bring about a positive change. There was an open mic as well, wherein one was invited to perform their written poems and/or discuss favourite works.
Initially, I was a little skeptical. A library in a moving van...was intriguing but seemed a little too dramatic for poetry. However, what I witnessed made me instantly review my impression and accept that not all fine tastes need be high maintenance.
| The certificate and book I was awarded |
Of course, as the name suggests, Poems on the road was not about fancy-shmancy poetry readings, with snooty poets sipping on wine and twitching their noses to each other's poetry.
On the contrary, it was as low key an event as possible. Poetry on wheels. A van parked off the road and a group of poetry lovers surrounding it; reading, discussing, and performing poetry in front of a niche audience. Expanding circles one city at a time, like children gathered around an ice cream truck, like moths to a flame.
A humble tribute for all to see.
Professing love to poetry.
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Since we are on the topic of poetry, I will take this opportunity to introduce to you all, my e-anthology of poems, titled 'Potpourri'.
You can check it out at Amazon here.
Do let me know what you think of it. It would mean a lot to me.
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Linking this post to #WordlessWednesday. You can check the other submissions here.
