Experiences galore unfold at fest

It was a jam-packed day full of poetry readings and poets talking about what drives them at the Bengaluru Poetry Festival (BPF), which came into existence two years ago, on Saturday.

Conceptualised by Subodh and Lakshmi, founders of Atta Galatta, BPF has seen its following grow by leaps and bounds.

The festival was inaugurated by Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Chandrashekar Kambar and Ashok Vajpeyi. Among the sessions was a conversation with Chandrashekar Kambar, his journey as a poet and the launch of the translated version of his book ‘Shivana Dangura’.

The session ‘Songs of Mist’ saw poets from the North-East discuss the problems they face and the initiatives they take in their writings. This was followed by women poets discussing the approach to autobiographical material, distancing techniques and how they cope with the aftermath of making private narratives public.

‘Complicating Worlds’ saw poets from Wales, Malaysia and Ireland discuss their poetry and the type of imagery they try to bring out. Jerry Pinto, Mani Rao and Ranjit Hoskote spoke about translating works from different languages and the challenges they face.  Salma, a Tamil poet and champion of women’s rights, spoke about the nuances of repressed desire and sexuality. Sudeep Sen spoke of desire, disease, delusion and dreams. Amit Chaudhari, Sumana Roy and Smita Bellur were the other poets present.