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Bhubaneswar, July 17: The city appears to be enamoured of poetry and the love is showing in the popularity of ‘poetry slams’ among youngsters here.
City-based non-profit organisation Bakul Foundation organised ‘Soul Slam Bhubaneswar’ at Bakul Library Sunday, and it saw a gathering of 50 poets. The versifiers included students and professionals with matching zeal and they opened their hearts through poems.
The event was part of a nationwide series of poetry slams organised by ‘Soul Journal’ in collaboration with Bhubaneswar Poetry Slam.
Performance poetry breaks the paradigms of “good poetry”, that is, poetry which has lost its common touch. It is an attempt to reconnect with people through poetry.
Slam poets, as the term suggests, slam to express and remove the masks they hide behind in the normal world. Poetry is their tool to connect with the world; they do not recite poetry; they perform these from the depths of their souls.
“The whole concept of poetry slam is to appreciate each other. In the last two years we have been trying to promote performance poetry in Bhubaneswar. We have organised such event in libraries and colleges. Performance elements were already there in Hindi and Urdu poetry but for English it is a fairly new concept,” Sujit Mohapatra, founder of Bakul Foundation, said.
“Though entry was charged and it was a maiden event, people here willingly participated, recited poems and also listened. Besides professional writers, several newcomers also participated in the event,” he added.
Manish Sehgal, a final year student of KIIT, said, “Performance poetry involves not only words but expressions, and gestures. Spoken word poets do not simply read the poem, they enact it. They infuse life into the bland words with their voice and spice them up with gestures and props. They build bridges of poetry with pillars of drama.
“The whole environment becomes so informal that at the end of the programme you end up making really good friends who understand you and the spirit behind your writing,” Manish said.
The focus of Soul Slam was free expression and becoming comfortable with one’s weirdness. Many were initially hesitant to bare their souls. But seeing others share their private experiences and emotions, they too were emboldened to share.
Their creativity and sense of humour defined some poets. Sourav Panda, a young banker, presented the poem ‘hurt and not heart’, which was about break ups he had; Kingshuk Ghosh read out a letter to his beloved; rapper Noel Ghatak presented his works in his characteristic rap. Nikila Chettri, a youngster who loves to call herself a poet, presented in verse the emotions associated with puddles and her love affair with rain.