Three months ago, when Delhiites gathered at North Block to demand a safer city for women, awe inspiring poems, songs and ballads could be heard from a distance. But today we celebrate World Poetry Day as the literati discuss the slow and probable death of poetry as an art form. Amit Dahiyabadshah, poet and founder, Delhi Poetree, contradicts the decline of poetry. He says, “In a world of growing stress, poetry is going to become as staple a human need as bread, water, milk and vegetables. In fact, in a truly nurturing environment it’d take anyone on the planet about 45 minutes to craft their first simple poem.” Jasmeet Singh believes that an inherent rhythm binds everything in this universe. “Music is all around us. Poetry, for me, is a way to give words to this music,” he adds. Jasmeet has published some of his poems on an online forum, The Indian Fusion. Though poetry is thriving on the alternate platforms like blogs, texts and tweets, some young poets feel the need to have more effective conventional platforms that are shrinking in size and number. Anurag Bhateja, who runs a poetry blog, says that though one can self-publish and hope to get recognised, there aren’t enough platforms to nurture brilliant minds. “Poetry is in the blood but there is no good blood bank for a healthy unit,” he adds. Reeti Singh, on the other hand, believes that there are enough platforms if one is open to joining in at recitals or forming groups for poetry readings. She says that even though she isn’t a full time poet, she has got her poems published online. “Let it out of the closet and watch it grow,” she adds.
