Bards, musicians, dancers, readers etc. unite in Bengaluru to celebrate poetry

Over the weekend, Bengaluru was host to poetry enthusiasts from around the country for the eighth edition of Bengaluru Poetry Festival. Bengaluru Poetry Festival saw around 4,000 attendees and over 50 participants in its eighth edition Co-founder of the festival Subodh Sankar shares, “We had about 2,000 attendees on the first day, August 3, and while the first-half of the second day was a bit slow, it picked up and we could match the footfall of the first day. I really enjoyed the festival and it's really wonderful that they've diverse in their approach to poetry, be it in terms of languages or genres and even a wide range of art forms.” Author Ashis Ghatak, who was in conversation with composer Shankar Mahadevan at the event, shares, “This is my first time at BPF. I really enjoyed the live music sessions that took place and folk singer Ila Arun's session!” G Ravikiran, a carnatic musician, shares, “My session was all about navigating poetry and music through the works of the 19th century composer Muthuswamy Dikshitar. I sat in on sessions that I knew nothing of but I took away a lot with me and have learnt many new things.” Devi Sastry, a teacher and aspiring poet, says, “I've attended BPF before and what keeps bringing me back is the fact that I'm an aspiring poet and I like being around like-minded people and also learn more about the traditions of poetry that exist in Indian languages.