Conversations with a rhyme of poets

Poetry is the art of observing and scripting a part of nature that goes unseen by man. Maybe that’s why it is said that a poet is unique and a step closer to God. A rhyme of poets recited some of their works at a reading session held at St Francis College in Begumpet on Saturday. Post the session, CityTAB caught up with a few poets to get insights into their body of work.

Among other poets, Shobhna Kumar from Coimbatore recited her poems, themed on nature, with grace and left the audience spellbound. On how she got into poetry, Shobhna says, “I started writing poems at the age of 12. I believe there is a story behind everything; reading into it just requires an eye. I prefer penning down poems at late in the night as I feel connected to my soul, nature and God at that time.”

Jennifer from Mumbai says that poetry in India is coming of age with different kinds of forms being explored. “The essence poetry had in earlier days is lacking now. The gap is just increasing but with the frequency of poetry reading sessions gradually increasing, a little bit of faith is restored in today’s poetry.”

While there are many poets struggling for a chance to see their words on page, Sharmila Ray from Kolkata shared her experience as a budding poet who had trouble publishing her work. “I started writing poems at a young age. In the early 90s I thought of getting my works published but it didn’t happen as no publisher was ready to help a newcomer. I didn’t give up and finally in 1996 I got my first book ‘Earth, Me and You’ published. One needs to follow their mind and heart for success,” she said.

“Inspiration can come from anywhere and anything in this world,” says Saima, another poet at the event. Saima feels that everything we do in life is poetry. “Thoughts can be blended and given the shape of poetry if you have the talent, the best example for which would be John Keats, who was a doctor and became a world famous poet by observing the pain and agony of people in this world,” the poet added.

By Chand Ahmed