The Bengaluru Poetry Festival is back in the city for its 7th edition, and with it comes a bigger promise of celebration and of course, poetry
The 7th edition of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival is scheduled to be held on 5 and 6 August at Grand Mercure Bengaluru. (Supplied)
“Poetry is such a broad spectrum, but it isn’t given much importance in any of the festivals,” rues Subodh Sankar. As co-founder of Atta Galatta, a Bengaluru-based bookstore, along with his wife, Lakshmi, Sankar realised that while poetry was gaining immense popularity, opportunities and platforms were limited for poets.
So, they, along with a core team of poets and poetry lovers, conceptualised the Bengaluru Poetry Festival (BPF) as a celebration of poetry. “When Lakshmi and I saw how active yet untapped the poetry community was, we decided that it was time to build a platform for poets and poetry lovers to express their passion and engage with all things poetry,” says Sankar.
On 5 and 6 August, the 7th edition of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival will be held at Grand Mercure Bengaluru, Gopalan Mall, Old Madras Road.
The Bengaluru Poetry Festival committee. (Supplied)
The festival aims to provide a space for verse to be engaged with — by poets, readers, performers, and the audience — across forms, formats, and languages. The two-day event will include poetry performances, talks on poetry, and opportunities to learn through workshops and interactive sessions.
“Poetry has such an active community that engages constantly on various platforms — social media or even at the multiple forums and readings I host at my very own bookstore, Atta Galatta,” says Sankar.
He noticed how people interacted with the art of poetry through online journals and slam poetry sessions. Most of them used the medium to express their feelings through poems. Besides, many are not published formally.
This year, the festival hopes to celebrate poetry stronger than the previous editions. “Over the entire two days, it’s going to be a grand event with 30 sessions. Renowned classical musician Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia will inaugurate the festival,” says an excited Sankar.
Audience at BPF 2022. (Supplied)
This year’s line-up includes panel discussions and individual readings. It boasts a schedule of eminent poets and musicians such as Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Javed Akhtar, Tanuja Chaturvedi, Maria Goretti, Shubha Mudgal, Megha Rao, and Mehak Goyal. Singer Maalavika Sundar’s concert performance will be the the event curtain-closing ceremony.
“While we have a panel by Yogesh Maitreya, an important poet in Dalit poetry, we also have a panel on poetry reviewing, a first for the festival because we realise that poetry reviewing is as important as writing poetry,” says Maitreyee B Chowdhury, a member of the core organising committee.
The highlight is on music and the influence of poetry on their compositions, says Maitreyee.
“We have lyricists and musicians talking about how poetry has influenced their work. For instance, Shubha Mudgal, a musician, has most of her compositions derived from Sufi and other mystical poets, so there’s a strong emphasis on music this year,” she adds.
There’s a children’s poetry section, which is new, according to Shinie Antony, director of the festival. Also, this is a first where BPF has planned a children’s section on a large scale.
With the day of the event nearing, the question of success emerges. Shinie says that the secret to success is a secret.
“There is a well-kept secret and it is: Everyone is a poet. Definitely, the world is full of poetry lovers. At the first edition, we were terrified that all seats would be empty. But what we saw was that the halls were too small!” she says.
True to her word, the festival is getting bigger and better every year. “We plan to focus on translations, Bhaasha poets, and young poets, who are instrumental in taking poetry in a different direction than the known traditional form,” explains Maitreyee.
They want to be as inclusive of all forms of poetry as possible. And as long as its good, brave and interesting poetry, we are set,” she emphasises.
“Poetry when it is heard, finds its way to the heart and stays there for a long time. And anything that appeals to the heart is always endearing,” explains Subodh while elaborating on the takeaways from the festival.
It is perhaps this essence that acts as a driving force behind the success of every edition since 2016.
Date: 5 and 6 August 2023
Timings: 10 am – 8:15 pm
Venue: Grand Mercure Bengaluru, Gopalan Mall, Opp RMZ Infinity Techpark, Old Madras Road, Bengaluru
For information, contact: Subodh 98450 19705
For registration, visit: www.bengalurupoetryfestival.org
Entry to the festival is free
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