PRATHIBHA NANDAKUMAR

Courtesy: Bangalore Mirror

And the Slovenians just loved it,says poet H N Arathi who was pleasantly surprised to have made a connection through her poetic works

When Kannada poet H N Arathi says that she sometimes feels alienated when she goes to,say,Delhi,shes voicing the thought of many regional writers who are stumped by the unnecessary divide.But strangely,she felt completely at home while participating in a poetry festival at Ljubljana,Slovenia! That is why every time a Kannada writer or poet makes a successful visit abroad and comes back happy that she or he made a connect,I feel very happy.

Ljubljana,which was nominated the Book Capital of the World by Unesco last year for its efforts to promote reading,continued the tradition with a poetry festival this year,organised in cooperation between KUC,Centre for Slovenian Literature,and Literature Across Frontiers.

SIMILARITIES

An excited Arathi,a senior producer at Doordarshan Bangalore,says,It was very interesting to be part of the poetry festival.I had three readings,one of which was at the city centre.A dais was constructed at the market circle and musicians played.The music attracted a crowd and after a while,poets started reading their poems.The idea was to popularise poetry since the situation in Ljubljana is much like Karnataka where poetry is increasingly limited to a small section of society.But surprisingly,we had a good crowd and people were interested.They had also erected a book rack by the side of the dais where books were displayed.People could go through the books and even take them away.This was to encourage reading,the organisers said.

The second reading was at a gay and lesbian caf bar.Suzanne and Braney,two poets active in the gay and lesbian movement,are taking up several activities to get the creative community to support their cause.They asked me if I was comfortable reading there and when I said I didnt mind at all,my reading was organised.There I presented a visual presentation about the portrayal of women in Kannada media.I had prepared a presentation,taking clippings from popular films like Phaniyamma,Gejje Pooje,Eradu Kanasu,a Malasri film,Mungaru Male,and Autograph.It briefly showcased the changing trends and attitude to women in Kannada films,especially the last film Autograph where the lead heroine prefers a career to a mundane submissive life.The people loved it.The response was so warm and to think I hadnt expected them to relate in that manner at all.Im glad I had thought of it.

The third reading was at a place which was earlier an army barrack.I was told that the government wanted to demolish it in 1993 but protests by writers and artistes saved it.It has now become an open place a hangout place where a bar,caf,an artists studio,a music school and such units are established and its a creative hub.Interestingly,the audience there was young and they not only enjoyed my poems but also their English translations.

I was very happy I could reach out to them,because writing in a language like Kannada,I sometimes feel alien at other places.But at Slovenia,I discovered that our concerns and thoughts are similar.Women have similar kinds of problems and when a woman speaks,she touches hearts at the most unexpected quarters.For instance,when I wanted to read my poem Facial which ends with Now I know why Seetha crossed the line,I had to explain about Ramayana and the Lakshman Rekha.When I read the poem,I was surprised that they related to my poem instantly.Some young women came up to me and said they felt the same.When I spoke about the two different worlds we live in,the Slovenian women said it was very much the same for them too.Now,I am certain that poetry is beyond language.

BOOKS AS PRIZES

Arathi has to her credit several programmes that she devised and executed successfully.One of them is the Kannada quiz on Doordarshan which has created record of sorts with more than 1,000 episodes where books are given as prizes.

It was a similar situation at Ljubljana.Youngsters participated enthusiastically at pubs and cafes where we had readings.In between,the compere would ask some questions and would give away books as prizes to those answering correctly.I was so happy to see that.

Arathi went to Prague,Venice,Rome and Paris on her way back and met writers there too.