Category Archives: Crooning Star

चल रे बटोही सिर्फ एक गाना नहीं बल्कि प्रवासियों के अपने घर वापसी की कहानी है: अमरेंद्र शर्मा

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By Shillpi A Singh

आज की ख़ास बातचीत अमरेंद्र शर्मा से जिन्हें आपने फिल्मों और टेलीविज़न में अभिनेता के रूप में देखा होगा पर क्या आप जानते हैं इन्होंने पिछले साल भोजपुरी गाने – चल रे बटोही – के गायक और निर्माता के रूप में एक नयी पहचान बना कर सब को चौंका दिया था। चलिए एक बटोही के साथ उसके सफर पर और जानिये इस अभिनेता, गायक और निर्माता के पीछे छुपे एक प्रवासी के दर्द को।

अमरेंद्र शर्मा

आप को हमनें फिल्मों और टेलीविज़न पर अभिनेता के रूप में देखा है। पिछले साल आपने दो म्यूजिक वीडियो में बतौर गायक और निर्माता के रूप में हम सब के सामने आये। इस सफर की शुरुआत कहाँ से और कैसे हुई ?

मैं बिहार के बेतिया जिले के शिकारपुर गाँव से मैट्रिक करने के बाद 1998 में पटना थिएटर करने आ गया। बिहार आर्ट थिएटर से एक्टिंग में दो साल का डिप्लोमा किया और उसी समय पंकज त्रिपाठी भईया से मिलना हुआ और उन्होंने मुझे नेशनल स्कूल ऑफ़ ड्रामा (एनएसडी) के विजय कुमार जी के मंच आर्ट ग्रुप से जोड़ लिया। फिर हमलोग कई सालों तक पूरे देश मे घूम घूम के बहुत सारे नाटक किया जिसमे फणीश्वरनाथ रेणु जी की कहानियां (पंच लाइट, रसप्रिया), हरीशंकर परसाई जी की कहानियां (ना जाने केंहि भेष में, हम बिहार में चुनाव लड़ रहे हैं) का कोलाज़ बना के, फिर रागदरबारी, जात ना पूछो साधु के, ऑफ माइस एंड मैन, बहुत सारे शोज़ किये। फिर कोलकाता में उषा गांगुली जी के रंगकर्मी रेपेट्री से जुड़ गया। वहाँ पर कोर्टमार्शल, शोभायात्रा, काशी के असी, मुक्ति, मातादीन चाँद पे, बहुत सारे शोज़ किये। उसके बाद दिल्ली साहित्य कला परिषद रेपेट्री से जुड़ गया। वँहा पर सतीश आनंद सर के साथ अन्वेषक, महानिर्वाण, चित्तरंजन त्रिपाठी जी के साथ लड़ी नज़रिया, दस दिन का अनसन (हरिशंकर परसाई जी की) सुमन कुमार जी के साथ कहानियों का मंचन किया।
दिल्ली में नाटक करते हुए मनोज बाजपेयी सर की फ़िल्म 1971 में काम करने का मौक़ा मिला, जिसमे मैं पाकिस्तानी सोल्जर की भूमिका में था। काम कुछ ख़ास नहीं था, पर मुझे मनोज जी को क़रीब से अभिनय करते देखना था, मैं उनको स्वाभिमान, दौड़, तमन्ना के समय से फॉलो करता था, जब सत्या आई तो मैं बिल्कुल बेचैन हो गया कि मुझे कैसे भी कर के एक्टर बनना है। मैंने उनकी सत्या देखी थी और शायद तभी से मुझे अभिनेता बनने की इच्छा जागी थी। स्कूल टाइम में अजय देवगन साहब का जबरदस्त फैन रहा हूँ। एक भी फ़िल्म नहीं छोड़ता था। फिर 2008 में मुम्बई आ गया। दूसरे मेरे पसन्दीदा एक्टर इरफान खान सर के साथ अपना आसमान किया। मणिरत्नम सर के साथ रावण किया। फिर मैंने फिल्मों से थोड़ी दूरी बना लिया, अच्छे काम नहीं मिल रहे थे सो मैंने टेलीविजन के तरफ़ रुख़ किया। क्राइम शोज़ में लीड रोल किये। कुछ विज्ञापनों में भी काम किया। 2018 में मुझे भोर फ़िल्म मिली, फिर 2019 में बाटला हाउस मिली। 2020 में मैंने बटोही म्यूजिक वीडियो बनाया। बटोही के बाद, छठ का गीत बनाया, उसे भी लोगों ने पसंद किया।

आप खुद को प्रवासी रचनात्मक मजदूर क्यों कहते हैं ? बटोही म्यूजिक वीडियो के पीछे क्या कहानी छुपी हुई है ?

सन 2000 में मैं पहली बार बिहार से बाहर, दिल्ली नाटक करने, अपने गाँव के कुछ लोगों के साथ पहुंचा था । वो लोग कापसहेड़ा में फैक्ट्री में काम करते थे और एक छोटे से कमरे में 7 से 8 लोग रहते थे। मैं भी उनलोगों के साथ रहने लगा, उन लोगों की स्थिति देख के मुझे बहुत बुरा लगा। मुझे बाहर इतनी बुरी स्थिति में रहना पड़ेगा, मैं कभी सपने में भी नही सोचा था, पर धीरे धीरे मैं भी उनमें ढल गया। कुछ समय बाद मैं वंहा से मंडी हाउस चला आया और अपने नाटक में मस्त हो गया। उसी समय NDTV पर रविश कुमार जी की रिपोर्ट देखी, जिसमे रविश जी मेरे ही ज़िले के प्रवासी मज़दूरों के साथ खाना खाते हुए रिपोर्टिंग कर रहे थे। उस दृश्य ने मुझे अंदर से झंझोर दिया। ख़ुद को पराजित महसूस करने लगा। पहली बार प्रवासी शब्द का अर्थ समझा, पहली बार अहसास हुआ कि मैं भी प्रवासी मज़दूर हूँ। मैं भी अपना परिवार, गाँव, समाज और जगह छोड़ कर मज़दूरी करने आया हूँ। उसके बाद मैं कलकत्ता गया, फिर मुम्बई आ गया, हर जगह उस दर्द को महसूस करता रहा।

चल रे बटोही अपन गाँव

चल रे बटोही अपन गाँव म्यूजिक वीडियो बनाने में कितना समय लगा ?

मुम्बई में संघर्ष करते वक़्त महसूस हुआ कि भोजपुरी में बहुत बुरा काम हो रहा है। भोजपुरी अश्लीलता का पर्याय बन चुका है। दूसरे राज्य के दोस्तों के बीच भोजपुरी मज़ाक की भाषा थी। बहुत बुरा लगता था। भोजपुरी में कुछ करना चाहता था पर कर नहीं पा रहा था, जिस तरह की भोजपुरी फ़िल्म बन रहीं थी कभी मन नही हुआ करने का। मैं गायक नही हूँ, पर नाटक में हमेशा गाता रहा हूँ, सो मेरा मन किया कि क्यूं न भोजपुरी में कुछ गाया जाय। प्रवासी होने का दर्द मैं मुम्बई में भी महसूस कर रहा था सो पलायन पर कुछ गाने का मन बनाया। सन 2018 की बात है, मैंने गीत लिखना शुरू किया पर पेपर पर उसको उतार नहीं पाया। फिर अपने गाँव के अभिजीत मिश्र को समझाया और कई महीनों के डिस्कस करने के बाद गीत तैयार हुआ। फिर भी मुझे गीत अधूरा लग रहा था; फिर मैं मुम्बई में राइटर डायरेक्ट आशुतोष तिवारी से मिला और बटोही का दूसरा अंतरा लिखवाया।
फिर दोस्त मनु वर्मा से डेमो म्यूजिक तैयार करवा के, फाइनेंस के लिए लोगों से मिलता रहा, पर कोई तैयार नहीं हुआ। फिर सोचा अब किसी से नही मिलूंगा, ख़ुद ही बनाऊंगा। ऐसे सोचते सोचते दो साल बीत गए। फिर लॉक डाउन में गाँव आ गया। प्रवासी मज़दूरों का संघर्ष देखा तो बहुत दुःख हुआ, ऐसा लगा बटोही इसी दिन के लिए बचा के रखा हूँ। कुछ समझ नही आ रहा था, गाँव में कोई सुविधा नहीं थी। क्या करूँ, सोचा फेसबुक पे लाइव गा देता हूँ, पर मन नहीं माना। फिर बेतिया में ही DOP चंदन से बात किया और वहीं पर लॉक डाउन में रेकॉर्डिंग कर के वीडियो भी शूट कर लिया। फिर मुम्बई एडिट के लिए फ़ाइल सेंड करने में तीन दिन लग गए, यहां पे इनटरनेट का बहुत प्रॉब्लम था। वीडियो शूट करने में टोटल चार लोग थे। ज़ीरो बज़ट में बटोही बन कर तैयार हुआ।

आपके बटोही गाने की बहुत तारीफ हुई है। क्या आपने ऐसा सोचा था ?

बटोही को जैसा मैंने सोचा था वैसे ही सबके सामने था, सभी का प्यार बहुत मिला।
मनोज बाजपेयी सर ने ट्विटर पे शेयर किया। पंकज त्रिपाठी भईया ने अपने पेज से शेयर किया।
रविश कुमार जी ने NDTV पे प्राइम टाइम में पूरा वीडियो चलाया।
निर्देशक अविनाश दास जी, अरविंद गौर जी … सब ने शेयर किया।
सबसे बड़ी बात मुझे ये लगी की दूसरे राज्य के लोगों ने भी इस भोजपुरी गीत को सराहा और पसंद किया।शायद इसलिए भी क्यूंकि इस देश में अगर बिहार का लड़का अगर महाराष्ट्र में काम करता और रहता है तो वह एक प्रवासी है। और इस तरह हम सभी प्रवासी ही हैं।

आप अभिनय और गायन के क्षेत्र में इस साल और क्या-क्या कर रहे हैं ?

दो फिल्मों – मछली और नरभक्षी – में काम किया है जिसका पोस्ट प्रोडक्शन चल रहा है। एक हॉट स्टार की वेब सीरीज कर रहा हूँ। कुछ भोजपुरी म्यूजिक वीडियो भी प्लान किया है, उसको करना है। अभी मैं किन्नर समुदाय के दुर्दशा और व्यथा पर भोजपुरी में म्यूजिक वीडियो बना रहा हूँ।

Batohiya song conveys our pride, pain of separation, longing & belonging, says Dutch Sarnámi-Bhojpuri singer Raj Mohan

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He collaborated with 11 artistes from seven countries for his dream project and released the song just days before Independence Day last year.

Raj Mohan is a poet, singer, composer, songwriter in the Sarnámi-Bhojpuri language in The Netherlands and Suriname. He released his first pop album in Sarnámi-Bhojpuri lyrics, Hindi songs and poems in 2011, were he not only sang but also composed the music and wrote the lyrics. In his album ‘Kantráki‘ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-r5NfLzJ3M (2005), he invented the Sarnámi-Bhojpuri Geet in the Geet & Ghazal style, which was appreciated worldwide. He performed the Geet/Ghazalnuma songs in the traditional Ghazal setting as well as in jazz and pop in his album, Daayra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUFqPZYQfdE (2011). 

He has so far released five music albums, including a bhajan album with Anup Jalota and authored two books with Sarnámi-Bhojpuri poems. His latest album ‘Dui Mutthi‘ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgBy07OcDUk (2013) was released to mark 140 years of Indian migration to Suriname.

In a freewheeling chat with Shillpi A Singh, he takes us through his last musical offering, Batohiya, released during the pandemic and everything else around Bhojpuri that is close to his heart, sould and being. Excerpts:

How did the Batohiya song happen?  

I wanted to record this song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZFW92GR2bo) for a long time, but I couldn’t because of my other engagements. I discussed the idea with my manager and business partner in India, Devendra Singh. He loved it. He was responsible for online marketing and coordinating the audio and video recordings in India. He suggested doing it with various artists from different diaspora countries. It was a huge challenge, but still, I went ahead. My student and artist Ragga Menno was another important resource who helped me shape this project and realise this dream.

What were the challenges? What went behind the scenes? 

The biggest challenge was the distance between all the artistes and me. The audio had to be recorded separately in studios. Devendra Singh and his team managed the recordings from India. He arranged for the performers in different cities in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to record the audio and video. I also coordinated this with my team from Suriname, South Africa, Guyana/Trinidad and The Netherlands.

Once all the material was collected, we started working on patching the audio and doing the video editing.

Batohiya Song | सुंदर सुभूमि भइया | बटोहिया गीत
Girmitiya song | Indian diaspora | Raj Mohan

How long did all of this take, from start to finish?  

We worked on this for two months with our team. 

Who were the other collaborators in this musical project? 

The song was producer by GFRecords (The Netherlands), and Devendra, Ragga and I were the  co-producers.

I composed the music using the lyrics originally written by the legendary poet Babu Raghuvir Narayan. The spoken words were by Hemelbesem. The backend crew included Babak Rastagar from Austria (Programming & Mixing); Mailmen Studio from The Netherlands (Mastering) and FOX Media Productions from The Netherlands (Video). I directed the video while Ragga did the editing. Nityanand Tiwari from India did its translation, from English to Bhojpuri. 

The vocalists included 11 artistes from seven countries — Munna Singh, Chhotu Bihari, Arya Nandini, and Vishwajeet Pratap Singh from India; Hemelbesem from South Africa; Terry Gajraj from Guyana/USA; Ilhaam Ahmadali from Suriname; Rukshana from The Netherlands; Angel ArunA, Ragga and myself from Suriname/The Netherlands.

Our partners in this project included GFRecords and FOX Media Productions from The Netherlands; Facebook groups from India — Anjora, Jogira, Bhojpuria, Khanti Bhojpuria, Magadhi Boys and Witty Froth Films; and radio channel Abee Chunes from New York.

Raj Mohan is a poet, singer, composer, songwriter
in the Sarnámi-Bhojpuri language in The Netherlands and Suriname.

There have been so many versions of the same song. Which one is your favourite? 

Of course, mine. We are the Batohiyas (travellers) in the true sense. This song has been made by and with descendants of artistes and participants of the Indian diaspora. It is about us. It tells the story of our ancestors who couldn’t go back to their beloved homeland India. At the same time, this song was also for the families that stayed behind in India. It conveyed their pride, pain of separation, longing, belonging, and even ours. After all, those people never saw their ancestors or families again. Most of them didn’t know which country they were going to and how they would fare there. The cherry on the cake is that it has been written by one of the strugglers, Babu Raghuvir Narayan.

Bhojpuri is the third most spoken language of the Sarnámi-Bhojpuri community in The Netherlands. What is the other way to keep the language alive for the younger generation?

Music is a powerful way to connect with each other. Other ways could be to hold meetings, conferences involving the young people with interactive programs and hip, new music; songs that appeal to them like Bhojpuri pop, (hard) rock or rap, and spoken word. We must have a modern, contemporary approach. We must organise regular gatherings to preserve and spread the Bhojpuri language and culture in all its versatility and diversity.

What are the most striking endeavours that stood out for you as far as doing a great service to the language in 2020? 

I have given many online concerts with songs sung mainly in Bhojpuri in both traditional (harmonium) and modern (guitar) styles. I released another song on Corona – Ham ka kari by Ragga Menno.

What is the scene like in your country? Do children read, write and speak Bhojpuri? What are the special measures being undertaken by the keepers of the language to keep it alive?

Activities are organised, presented or developed in various ways. There are very few radio programs and (online) TV report in Sarnámi-Bhojpuri. The new generation of lyricists should write songs in our language, but they instead copy Bollywood songs or write songs in Hindi. 

Baithak gana (our folklore) is very popular, even with children who learn to sing the songs and play various instruments such as the dholak, harmonium and dhantaal (dandtaal). A major drawback is that the performers’ awareness (and of their parents) is not high enough to understand and/or speak the language they sing. The language is in danger of being lost here, just like in other Caribbean countries such as Guyana and Trinidad. In these countries, they don’t bother to learn the language or understand the words. Unfortunately, this also applies to most (almost all) professional artistes in Suriname, The Netherlands, Guyana and Trinidad. That is regrettable. 

Tuning in to Chhath festivities

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02e9deeb-442c-42b4-9264-c260e35fffb8Gone are the days of stereos and radios that used to play Chhath songs. Today these songs are just a click away on YouTube channels and can be played on smartphones too. Here’s an amplified look at the rise of the digital wave in the festive milieu. 
Till a few years ago, legendary folk singer and Padma Shri Sharda Sinha’s mellifluous voice wafting out of the stereos and speakers filled the air with festivities across the nook and corner of the twin states of Bihar and Jharkhand, parts of Uttar Pradesh, especially during Chhath. Her name was and is still synonymous with by far the grandest, most significant festival celebrated by the natives of these states all over the country and even world. Bihar Kokila as she is fondly called had released her first album on Chhath way back in 1977, and that was quite a feat. “Convincing a music company to release an album in Bhojpuri featuring Chhath songs was an ardous task then, but I am glad to have spearheaded that movement to give respect to our musical culture, language, tradition, and festival,” she says beaming with pride. In a first of its kind, she went on to release two of her songs Supawo Na Mile Maayi and Pahile Pahil Chhati Maiyya on YouTube in collaboration with Neo Bihar and Champaran Talkies last year, and both the releases had taken the social media platforms by storm. “People can tune into the Chhath songs at the click of a button on their smartphones. Technology has made access easier, audience base wider, and reach deeper,” Sinha adds.
Her contribution to the world of music can be gauged from the fact all the singers who have grown up listening to her have followed in her footsteps, trying to make a mark in the space of Chhath songs with their offering, year after year, but knowing well that nothing can beat her popularity. You may choose to love some, hate others, but one thing is for sure, you can’t ignore them and the opportunities that have come their way, thanks to the digital platform like #YouTube. They need not go to a music company to release their album; the power to do so rests with them, and it is just a click away. Their channels on YouTube boasts of lakhs of fans (subscribers), and the number of views is a measure of their popularity that further translates into monetization, and sets the cash register ringing. These young brigade is scripting the new era of Bhojpuri music, resurrecting it in their unique way, jostling to grab eyeballs and vying for attention from one and sundry, loving to hate each other in the process. Even then the bottom line remains that each one of them has a loyal fan base, and the other one can’t make a dent in that.
Another interesting trend is the popularity of an FB page, Chhath Parv, managed by Ankit Verma and his team that has emerged as the one-stop destination for the Chhath doers, and watchers alike all over the world. “It has more than 10 lakh followers, and our posts get an average of 10K shares,” says Verma. It provides a virtual connect to many who visit the page to watch the hues of festivities from across the country and also different parts of the world.
One step at a time is what binds them together in this feature on Chhath. The popularity of these songs, music, lyrics, theme, etc., depends on the likes and spikes, because ultimately, the good, bad and ugly rests with the public who knows it all. But as Delhi-based Namitha Chaudhary says, “Many singers have Chhath songs to their credit, but on this auspicious occasion, it is Shardajee’s voice that sums up the religious fervor. It touches the chord of our hearts.”
Here’s our rundown of the major Chhath releases that created ripples on the digital platform this year.
Nitin Neera Chandra | Tradition keeper 
Buoyed by the overwhelming response to his last year’s video Pahile Pahil Chhati Maiyya sung by Sharda Sinha, featuring Kranti Prakash Jha and Kristine Zedek, National Award-winning filmmaker Nitin Neera Chandra’s Chhath offering this year is Kabahun Naa Chhooti Chhath. The story is a sequel to last year’s video but has a more profound message for the masses. “Our first story was about a Punjabi girl married to a guy from Bihar who commits to doing Chhath so that there is no break in the family tradition. Our story this year is how her husband takes up the responsibility to fill in for her pregnant wife by fasting on Chhath. Our idea was to tell the world that it’s not only the girls, who have to carry our family tradition, but boys can pitch in to do the same when needed.” Chandra roped in Hindi film playback singer Alka Yagnik and Bhojpuri Samrat Bharat Sharma Vyas to croon the song penned by Ashok Sheopuri that subtly highlights the fact that it is only in Bihar that people worship the setting as well as rising Sun. He also went on to release an instrumental version of the song by flautist Sudhir Karandikar and a Karaoke session on Neo Bihar’s YouTube channel.
Kalpana Patowary | Unity in diversity
The Assamese singer Kalpana Patowary, who is the uncrowned queen of the Bhojpuri music industry, hit the right notes with her Chhath video on the theme of communal harmony. Patowary sings in 30 languages and sang her first Chhath song in 2002. “I don’t belong to Bihar so didn’t know the much about it, except the fact that the Sun is a source of live energy and Chhath is an occasion to thank it for its benevolent presence in our lives,” she says. The video touches upon how Muslim families have been worshipping the Sun God, following the rituals to the T. Her rendition of Ug Ho Suraj Dev was originally sung by Vindhyawasini Devi with music by Bhupen Hazarika. The soul of this version is its mesmerizing storyline, and captivating vocals that show Patowary invoking the Sun God dressed the traditional Assamese way with orange vermillion smeared from forehead to nose. “I have a personal connection with the festival as I am married into a Muslim family. There’s an old lady in Jamalpur, who fasted and prayed for me during Chhath when I was expecting. I went to pay my obeisance after my twin boys were born to thank the deity for blessing me with motherhood,” says Patowary, adding, “Such songs are needed to combat the wave of religious intolerance and negativity floating around us.”
Khushboo Uttam & Dr Ranju Sinha | Noteworthy songs  
As a young girl, Khushboo Uttam idolized Sharda Sinha and entered the world of Bhojpuri playback singing with high hopes to make it big. But Uttam’s dreams came crashing with every attempt. The lyrics of her songs were to be blamed for it. “She was undoubtedly the choice of masses, but crass for the classes. But that never dampened her spirits and every time, she tried to bounce back, stronger and better,” says Dr Ranju Sinha, lyricist, and filmmaker, who has been collaborating with the singer since the last few years. Blessed with a trained voice, she had her basics in place. Uttam’s tie-up with Dr Sinha gave her songs the much-needed sanctity that took her popularity notches higher. “I have tried to capture the many moods of Chhath with my songs. Rahe Daura Ke Raur Fharmaish talks of raging issue of GST, Aai Gaile Katik Ke Mahinawa helps one soak in the festive spirit while Dhukur Dhukur Chale Garnetor portrays the banter between a couple,” says Uttam, adding, “the music is peppy and catchy.” Both Sinha and Uttam are grateful to the digital medium for reducing the dependence on music labels and distributors, paving the way for young and budding talents to win their share of audience attention.
Megha Sriram Dalton and Amit Jha | Melody on Track 
Filmmaker Amit Jha grew up wondering why don’t the elderly in the family pass on the tradition of doing Chhath to the daughter. “Why is the daughter-in-law favored over the daughter? Why is it the boy who is the keeper of tradition and never a daughter?  It is gender biased,” he says. The nagging thought led him to make a short film, Dhiya Poota that means daughter and son in Bhojpuri that was released on YouTube last Sunday. The other idea that he has touched in his offering is how families yearn for a male heir. “A girl child is a blessing in the truest sense, but that doesn’t deter parents to wish for a boy,” he rues. Another nuance is the use of an inflatable pool to offer arghya (prayer to the Sun). Once he had the idea in place, everything else came around including lead actor Seema Biswas. He wanted a singer who had a touch of folk in her voice for his film. A popular singer on the Bollywood circuit, Megha Sriram Dalton was the perfect fit. “I approached Megha, and the only things she asked me is, when can she come for the recording,” he quips. For Megha, it was a God-send opportunity, who had been relegated to the chorus when it came to Chhath songs, in her decade-long musical career. “I was longing for an opportunity to lend my voice to a Chhath song. I am glad that this opportunity came my way with Chhathi Maiya Dihin Na Asis,” she says.

Verse Days Ahead in Delhi

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New Delhi, March 31: In a first of its kind, Delhi will play host to the country’s first poetry biennale, VAK: The Raza Biennale of Indian Poetry, from April 7, 2017. The celebration of verses of all kinds will see 45 poets from 15 Indian languages converge at Triveni Kala Sangam in the Capital made possible by the Raza Foundation set up by the late illustrious artist Sayed Haider Raza.
The Raza Biennale has been spearheaded by Foundation’s executive secretary, Hindi poet and former bureaucrat Ashok Vajpeyi. “We want to draw people’s attention to the magic of poetry, not just in Hindi, English and Urdu but also in regional languages such as Kashmiri, Assamese and Manipuri. The inaugural festival will see the participation of 45 poets, both well known and upcoming ones, who will get 15 minutes to read their selected poem, including translations,” says Vajpeyi.
The Biennale will be inaugurated by five poets from Odia, Assamese, Manipuri, Tamil and Kashmiri.
Among the invited poets are K Satchidanandan (Malayalam), Sharmila Ray (English), Kanji Patel (Gujarati), Kutti Revathi (Tamil) and Ratan Thiyam (Manipuri).
Besides poetry readings session, there would be three panel discussions with writers and intellectuals on ‘Poetry as Freedom’, ‘Poetry as Memory’ and ‘Poetry as Conscience’.
“The triptych, as it were, would bring forth the rich plurality of voices, visions, resonances, memories, styles, languages, rhythms, innovations, structures, furious innovative verve, etc. in sharp focus,” says Vajpeyi.
Keki Daruwala, Sitanshu Yashaschandra, Shiv Visvanathan, Udayan Vajpeyi, Ashis Nandy, Ramin Jahanbegloo, Shamim Hanfi, Ananya Vajpeyi, Krishna Kumar, Apoorvanand, and K Satchidanandan are among those participating in the seminars.
A book edited by Ashok Vajpeyi and art writer Shruthi Issac containing poems by all the participating poets would be released on the occasion.
‘VAK’ as the Raza Biennales are a three edition event. The first one in 2017 is centered on Indian Poetry, the second in 2019 will feature Asian Poetry and the third in 2021 (the birth centenary year of Raza) would be devoted to World Poetry.
Conceived as an “ambitious project”, Vajpeyi hopes that the first biennale would affirm the vibrancy and vitality of contemporary poetic imagination as it manifests itself through different generations of poets, 45 in number belonging to 15 languages.
BOX:
SH Raza, a widely acknowledged master of Modern Indian Art, was deeply interested in other arts, especially poetry. Unusually, he inscribed many lines of poetry in his canvases reviving a convention of miniature painting.
These lines came from the Vedas, the Upanishads, Sanskrit, Hindi and Urdu Poetry and included Kabir, Tulsidas, Surdas, Ghalib, Mahadevi, Agyeya, Muktibodh, Faiz amongst others.
In his diary, Raza used to note down many lines of poetry that he liked in Hindi, English, Sanskrit, French, etc. The diary which ran in several volumes was appropriately named ‘Dhai Akhar’ (Two and A Half Letters) a phrase Kabir used describing love.