Hindi Kavya Sandhya at Consulate of India in Atlanta: an evening that brewed words into poetry
(Left) Hindi Kavya Sandhya organizers: Sandhya Saxena Bhagat (R) and Consul D.V. Singh (L). (Photo: Anil Bhagat)
Language is the mother of all cultures. It keeps you connected to your roots, amuses you into the anecdotes of the past, enthralls you with the present, and wheels you to the future. Atlanta literati enjoyed a literary Saturday on the bright and pleasant evening of May 21, 2016 when the Consulate General of India in Atlanta and the local Hindi drama/arts group Dhoop Chaoon shouldered the responsibility of carrying the flag of Hindi-Urdu literature by organizing the first Hindi Kavya Sandhya (हिंदी काव्य संध्या – an evening of poetry in Hindi) at the Consulate.
(Left) Consul D.V. Singh.
Bustling with love for the language, which is unique in all aspects, more then 25 people recited poetry. Some of them recited their own creations, and some chose poems writen by famous poets. As diverse as the language is, so was the composition of poets on this mesmerizing evening. The audience was able to soak in poems from octogenarian poets to teen poets, doctor poets to engineer poets, and humorous poets to serious ones.
Those who recited poems in this event were Aarti Nayyar, Alok Sharma, Anagha Srinivasan, Brij Rani Varma, Chander Gambhir, Chaturbhuj Narayan Singh, Anshuman Varma, Dr. Om Arora, Lavanya Shah, Shilpa Agrawal, Kamlesh Chugh, Kiran Sinha, Naval Parval, Mridula Kirti, Nidhi Pippal, Advait Anand, Vimala Nikore, Pankaj Patel, Priti Kishore Gupta, Pramila Dhirendra, Rita Kapahi, Dr. Jagadish Agarwal, Surinder Dhar, and organizers Sandhya Saxena Bhagat (founder/director of Dhoop-Chaoon) and Consul D.V. Singh (Consul/Head of Chancery).
These wordsmiths brewed the words into concoctions on social issues, diaspora emotions, humor, and storytelling. Each poet came up with a masterpiece creation and portrayed talent that usually goes unexpressed, if not for events like these. Mrs. Sandhya Bhagat and Mr. D.V. Singh thanked those in attendance and promised that events like this would keep coming back to Atlanta.
After having indulged in word concoctions by poets, the attendees got to enjoy a sumptuous feast on the beautiful lawns of the Indian Consulate.
(Photo: Anil Bhagat)
Surinder Dhar, Chander Gambhir, Sandhya Saxena Bhagat, Kamlesh Chugh, Raj Razdan, and Subash Razdan at Hindi Kavya Sandhya. (Photo: Anil Bhagat)
Website Bonus Feature
Thanks to supporters Anil Bhagat, Subash Razdan, Raj Razdan, Kailash Khandelwal, Anjali Chabria (TV Asia) and local media groups.
Photo Gallery:
http://www.indianconsulateatlanta.org/event_detail.php?id=7&tp=1
Collage of poets at the Hindi Kavya Sandhya at the Atlanta Consulate.
(Photos: Anil Bhagat, compiled by Nidhi Pipal)
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