Latest news with #SubodhSankar
New Indian Express
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
A Parade of Poets: BPF's new edition to have 86 invitees and 30 poetry sessions
In the cacophony of best-selling fiction and non-fiction tomes creating a buzz at traditional literature festivals, the gentler notes of poetry, that demand one's careful reading, engagement, and willingness to sit in the quiet, often gets lost. It is to rectify this and carve out a space for poetry alone that Bengaluru Poetry Festival (BPF) was first started, according to co-founder Subodh Sankar, ahead of the festival's 9th edition set to happen this weekend. This year's edition will see 86 invitees and 30 poetry sessions including well known literateurs like Jeet Thayil, Mani Rao, Mamta Sagar, alongside musicians, lyricists and film personalities associated with poetry in some form. Some highlights include Malayalam actor Ramya Nambeesan, lyricist Swanand Kirkire, bhakti music performer Parvathy Baul, and singer Bruce Lee Mani along with Justh, the creator of the viral song Chor. Explaining the inclusion of so many musical acts, Sankar explains, 'When you listen to music, poetry is not the first thing that comes to your mind, but when you sort of sit down and examine it, examine it. The root art form is actually poetry. It will be interesting to see how an artist sort of transforms their talent from one art form to the other. The transformation would be very interesting for people to see.' Five international poets – two from the UAE through the Emirates Literature Festival, and one each from the USA, Singapore and Sri Lanka will also be in attendance. Apart from musical performances, most of the featured names will be a part of discussions, panels, and poetry readings across English, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Urdu, Odia, Bengali and Mizo. Noting that poetry draws more young people than other publishing forms like fiction or non-fiction, Sankar considers the festival a great opportunity for young writers. 'More and more young people are reading poetry, not just through the traditional publishing process, but through Instagram, online poetry journals and magazines,' he says. A section of the festival, consisting of 22 poets, writers, illustrators and storytellers, make up the Children's Festival, running parallel to the main poetry events. Sankar says, 'Though it is at a poetry festival, it is not just about children's poetry – the idea is to create that platform where children can spend a couple of days involved in their creative pursuits.' Children will be able to engage with crafts activities, storytelling sessions, outdoor activities, puppetry shows, and more. (Bengaluru Poetry Festival will take place at Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha on August 2 and 3, 10am onwards. Entry is free)
The Hindu
25-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
9th edition of Bengaluru Poetry Festival to be held in the city
Subodh Sankar still remembers the first time he heard the Odia poet Bishnu Mohapatra read his work at Atta Galatta, a decade or so ago. 'He read in Odia, and it gave me goosebumps…without understanding a word of what he read,' says the co-founder of Atta Galatta. 'That is the power of poetry,' believes Subodh, who, with a core team of poets and poetry lovers, conceptualised the Bengaluru Poetry Festival as a celebration of all things poetry, back in 2016. Bishnu, 'a very, very senior poet,' will be one of the many speakers who will be part of the 9th Edition of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival, which will be held in the city on August 2 and 3. Some of the others include Ramya Nambessan, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Sandhya Mridul, Justh, Jeet Thayil, Madhan Karky, Danish Husain and Bilal Moin. 'There are plenty of big names that we are looking forward to at the festival,' says Subodh, adding that the festival ends with a performance by Parvathy Baul. Also, as always, the festival will showcase poets in multiple languages, including Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Urdu, Bangla, and Mizo. 'We are very proud of the fact that we have been able to bring poetry in so many different languages to the city.' This year, for the first time, the festival will be held at the Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha, 'a standard performance venue with a beautiful outdoor area', instead of a hotel. 'In that sense, the festival has significantly reduced its footprint and gone back to nature, something we are proud of,' says Subodh. Another major change in this edition, he adds, is the inclusion of many more poets from outside the country.' These include Sri Lankan poet Shirani Rajapakse, American writer and poet Claudia Keelan, Singaporean poet and translator Daryl Lim Wie Jie and Emirati poets Ali AlMaazmi and Amal Al Sahlawi, 'both of whom will be reading in Arabic.' The festival is instituting a fellowship for young, unpublished poets aged 18-24, to be announced on August 3, titled the Utkarsh Poetry Fellowship, in association with Dr Neena Verma, a medical doctor from Delhi. The fellowship, another first for the festival, is named after Neena's son, a poet himself who passed away at a young age, got kick-started about a month and a half ago, when an announcement for the fellowship was made, explains Subodh. 'We've had an overwhelming response, with a couple of hundred people responding, and now it is going through the jury process.' This edition will feature approximately 86 speakers, including the facilitators of the children's festival, which will take place in parallel with the main festival, a crucial aspect of the programming. 'For the last four years, we have had a children's festival happening alongside the poetry festival,' says Subodh, who believes that it is a great way to introduce children to the world of books. 'Children who read, turn into adults who read and adults who read turn into writers,' he says. 'So we take any opportunity we can to bring children to a literary atmosphere.' The 9th edition of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival will be held on August 2 and 3 at the Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha. Entry is free and all are welcome.
