A Wonderful Blend of Poetry and Music

   A Wonderful Blend of Poetry and Music(A review of a poets' meet )
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Respected dignitaries on the dais and dear friends,

                       Sugathan Master set the tone of the meet by inaugurating the session with a splendid rendering of the poem written in Malayalam 'Veedu' by O N V Kurup.His musical rendering took me to the olden days when I sat alone in the late night carnatic concerts in Kozhikode during my B Ed days.Sitting in the crowd but feeling alone and excited in the flow of music I would forget myself and leave the hall refreshed and ecstasic.Today when Santhosh Cherupuzha, Subash Edavarambu,Vishnu Manoj and Sreelakshmi Sashi presented the poems -Post Mortem, Iruttile Kazcha(a view in darkness ),Therali (the driver )and Varu Nee Koottukara(Welcome my friend),I have the same feeling.I am sure all of us  feel raised to higher plane of life.and this meet of poets marks this special camp as different from all the the other  camps being conducted in various parts of this district and perhaps in the state too.This is a different experience. After this session , being  part of the audience ,I am convinced that poetry can lift human minds to a plane where we all will feel exalted and poised for action.

                 That is what poetry does.It changes us.It becomes a powerful defence against the forces of darkness like marginalisation, colonisation and sexual abuse.The poems presented here reveals the pathos and agony of common man when we hear about the rebels being shot down by the police or about the hunters who haunt the darlings even from their sleep bed in slums.Poetry takes us into the realm  of nostalgia and makes us hopeful that one day we might  meet the lost friends ,at least in a riot torn land.The poet cannot hide the rebellious thought  when he realises that even a devilish criminal like Govinda Chami(the rapist who murdered an innocent girl Soumya) is let off the hook by the so called perfect system of blind justice in the society.


It is a fact that Poetry is something to be meditated over and it should blossom up naturally in one's heart.And that is how each line is created by a poet.A poet would have meditated over a word many times and it is a challenge to decipher them in a poets' meet.That why I doubt whether I was able to decipher every line we heard in this session.This is a promise that I ,all of us will delve deep into these poems again and again.They are so powerful. I have wondered why poetry surges into our thoughts without being called upon.Last month  when I was standing in front of the Mysore palace observing its splendour and beauty-not a new experience  as I have visited this place many times - then come the lines of the poet Sachidanandan into my mind.All the forts and dungeons will become archives one day.Every fort will fall down.That lifts my mind into a new perspective of life.Then James Shirley speaks on .Only the actions of the just will smell sweet and blossom in the dust.Every thing else dies.This is what poetry is about.It takes us into eternity.It is a defense of the hurt,the lost and the abandoned.

                 Poetry is defined as the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings .It is also described as emotions recollected in tranquility. In my view it is more than that.It should be .It can and it should lift our mind to a plane where we will feel exalted and poised for action.A time will come when we can be sure that all our gazes are without revenge;all our words are without trash.(as quoted in the poem 'Veedu'). There will be a time when we consider the words of the other as sweeter than music.This session has provided us at least a dream to pursue .A dream of a change in attitudes and perceptions.That is what this meeting of the volunteers of the National Service Scheme is concerned about and that is why I am so grateful to the enlightened minds who were present here.It was a wonderful blend of poetry and music .
Thank you all.

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A Review of a Poet Meet held as part of the seven day camp for the first year national service scheme members in GHSS KAMBALLUR(28/12/2016)

( SCRIPT OF A REVIEW SPEECH- translated from the Malayalam version )