“At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet”, Plato said. Conversely I presume, ‘At the touch of a poem, everyone becomes a lover.’
Poetry holds a very apprized spot in my heart as it is nothing less than a language for soul at its most distilled and powerful form to me. So when the summon for Hyderabad Huddle – II came, I was spirited and thrilled. Hyderabad Huddle is an annual literary event which showcases art and culture through book launches, poetry reading, dance and musical band performances, street play, stand-up comedy and much more. While the sun and cloud played blind man’s buff in the backdrop of rivetingly lush Phoenix Arena, the venue was befitting. There’s something about this endearingly warm city of Hyderabad with its rich heritage and legacy, we could vibe the spill all over during the whole day affair undoubtedly.
The huddle every year is organised by Twin City Poetry Club (TCPC) patroned by Rajesh K, Sathyavathi, Amitabh T and others. The day started with the main feature of book release of the third edition of ‘Lakdi-Ka-Pul, The Poetry Bridge’, a multilingual anthology of contemporary poetry with contributions from 42 diverse, impressive poets not just in English, but also in Hindi, Urdu, Marathi with a sprinkle of Farsi thrown in it. My two short, simple, skinny poems cherished by my blog readers titled ‘My Divine’ and ‘My Hamlet’ are part of this literary collection. They are an intimate glimpse into my soul as well the things I believe in.
The New Indian Express(TNIE) felicitated Abhishek Peri from Silver Oaks International School for his poem ‘The Hope in Nature’s Wrath’ and Vidhi Sajnani from Chirec Public School for her work ‘Move, This Land is not Yours’. The gifted kids enthralled the audience with their ahead-of-time sensibility. Three eminent poets from India’s literati circle Paresh Tiwari, Rochelle Potkar and Sarabjeet Garcha transported us to the enchanting whispery lanes of Haibun and Haiku. The delightful, crisp Japanese form with its commanding power over imagery as we all know and it’s nuances and intricacies were deftly touched upon by these three stalwarts of this genre. I took back few key insights with absolute revelry. The vibrant, prolific poet Rochelle’s new book ‘Paper Asylum’ was launched this day in the city. The notable Haibun virtuoso and Pushcart Prize nominee Paresh Tiwari released the third edition of his acclaimed ‘Raindrops chasing Raindrops’ in the same platform. The brilliant bilingual poet, editor and publisher Sarabjeet Garcha too launched his collection ‘A Clock in the Far Past’.
With four book launches the air needed buoyancy, which was well served with zesty stand-up comedy by good-humoured Alick Bailey. The skilled poet Akila G with her troupe of ‘Nallagantla Ke Nautankibaaz’ did set the stage ablaze. With their high-spirited rendition and speck of sarcasm imbued in it, the street play was themed on largest global risk in terms of potential impact over the next decade – Water Crisis. The high point of the day indeed need a worth mention of Mosaic Existence – A delicate confluence of dance and poetry merged. The poised Bharatnatyam danseuse Sharmishta Vardhan portrayed harmoniously an array of haibun by Paresh Tiwari in endless unison. The carousel of art, creativity and bonhomie continued till dusk, painting agreeably the daily humdrum of our blank canvas with colours resplendent and memories carved in our heart for days to come.
