Filigree
On 21 December, the revered walls of Salar Jung Museum came alive with poetry, music and conversations. Kolkata based independent publication house, Hawakal, headed by publisher, Bitan Chakraborty, collaborated with city based, Quills Literary Club, RBVRR Women’s College for the official release of Rituals, a poetry collection by eminent poet and Chief Editor, Ethos Literary Journal, Kiriti Sengupta. Hawakal also launched Zephyr, a poetry chapbook by student poets of the club. The book has been edited by Jhilam Chattaraj.
The event, titled as “Filigree,” was attended by more than 150 poetry enthusiasts from the city. Chairperson of the club, Ms M Suchitra Reddy inaugurated the program. It began with a conversation between poet, KiritiSengupta and city poet and coordinator of the event and Quills Club, Jhilam Chattaraj. She spoke abou the excellent reviews received by Rituals in prestigious journals like the Colorado Review and the Critical Flame. Sengupta read a few poems like “Masala Muri,” and “When God Is A Woman,” and spoke in witty repartees about his adventures as a poet and an Associate of Hawakal. He concluded his talk, saying that, “poetry is beautiful but not glamorous.” His book was released by eminent poets, representatives of Salar Jung Museum and faculty of RBVRR Women’s College.
City poet, Shikhandin also read her poems and spoke at length about her emotional response to issues like child abuse. The readings were followed by melodious renderings by students. Vara Laskhmi played the flute; Shalini played the guitar and raised the energy of the event. Students were thrilled to witness the formal release of Zephyr, a poetry chapbook by eighteen student poets of Quills Club. Students read their poems and were happy to find some of the alumni members read their works. Ritu Sarda and MeeraSaheba were awarded the “Certificate of Excellence” by Hawakal for writing the most notable poems in the collection. A. Mounica and Juveria Tabassum were also awarded by Hawakal for their work as student editors of the Quills blog. The other student poets read poems on love, nostalgia and growing up. Himabindoo who made beautiful wrist bands for the guests, said, “as an NCC cadet, I have always been an outdoor person but the poems written by my friends have inspired me to reflect on my emotions.”L. Aiswarya, said, “this event has made me realise that poetry is not just a hobby. It has to be taken up seriously as a profession.” Students like Ciri Kovida, Sahiti, Neha and Harshita felt proud supporting their poet friends. Faculty members, Ms M Suchitra Reddy, Dr Sumitra Jaiswal, Dr Y. Jayanthi, Ms Mercy Rani, Dr.Bhagavathi Darbha, Ms Amroze Mehdi, Ms K. Anupama, Ms Pranitha Martand, Ms Neha Jaiswal and Ms Ruth Kezia were overjoyed to hear poetry from students who usually kept silent in class.
The event created a platform for experienced and budding poets. It also established the contribution of independent publication houses like Hawakal towards the growth of literary aspirations among young girls of Telangana. Quills Club and Hawakal hopes to organise more of such inter-cultural literary events in the city.
