Over a dozen poets marked their attendance at Poetry For All Seasons, curated by Ipsita Ganguli and held at Kolkata Centre for Creativity. The amphitheatre on July 14 at first saw a thought-provoking discussion on Poetry as a Performing Art by Prof Sreemati Mukherjee from the Development of Performing Arts, Presidency College. She delved into the profound connection between poetry and performing arts, enlightening the audience with her expertise and insight.
Next up was a dance and music performance by Srabasti Ghosh and Akash Chakraborty. Their duet Abarton celebrated the poetry of love and the poetry of rain and questioned ‘As the season goes in a cycle and monsoon arrives after the thirst of summer, does the poetry also need to have an urgency of returning?’ Srabasti’s free-flowing moves accompanied by various props were inspired by the collage of poems by Rabindranath Tagore, Shakti Chattopadhyay and Purnendu Patri. Akash weaved his instruments that reflected the musicality of the monsoon as well as poetry.
This was followed by poetry reading sessions and one by one city poets shared their intimate thoughts. First up among the poets was Lakshmisree Banerjee. Introducing poetry as a verbal painting and poets as rebels she read out a few poems from her published work including Dear My Friend, an anti-war poem. Anurag Maitreyee, a trans voice, expressed his deeply moving thoughts with his Bengali poems. Next up was celebrated artiste Ashoke Viswanathan who read his poem Inexplicable. The other wordsmiths present that evening were t2 columnist Julie Banerjee Mehta who read a poet dedicated to her mother, Mother, I Can See You Now; Baishali Chatterjee Dutt, Aneek Chatterjee, Shekhar Banerjee, among others.
The evening ended on an enthralling note with the musical poetic presentation of Sandipan Dey and Ipsita Ganguli. While Ipsita read her own poems in her usual captivating style, Sandipan presented a beautiful rendition of very well-chosen Tagore songs.
Reena Dewan, Director, KCC aptly said, “Poetry has an extraordinary ability to weave emotions, stories, and the essence of seasons into a rich tapestry of words. With ‘Poetry for all Seasons,’ we aim to curate an experience where poetry enthusiasts can delve into this timeless art form.” Richa Agarwal, chairperson KCC added, “Poetry is an art form that speaks to the deepest parts of the souls and captures the essence of human emotions. With Poetry for all Seasons, we aim to ignite a spark of creativity and invite people from all walks of life to join in this enchanting journey.”
Pictures: Biswajit Kundu