The Multi- lingual Seminar organized by Maha- Keraleeyam as part of its programme of felicitation of O.N.V. held a mirror upto all the ironies in our lives as Indians. The theme of the seminar was : ‘ Drying Regional Languages And The Challenges Confronting The Indian Cultural Identity.’ Papers were presented by eminent people from five regional language organizations - The Karnataka Sangha , Mumbai , The Marathi Abhyas Kendra , The Bombay Tamil Sangam, The Andhra Mahasabha, Mumbai and Maha Keraleeyam.
In multilingual Mumbai, the papers had to be in the one & only link language, English. An irony that we will be living with for all time to come. All the speakers, except one, bowed to ‘this inevitable compromise’ as O.N.V. himself did in his concluding speech. Only the Tamil Sangam President, Prof. Jayakanteepan read his paper in Tamil. Arumaiyana Tamil for those who could follow it. But worse than Greek & Latin to the rest ! President of the Andhra Mahasabha , A. Mallikarjun Reddy,on the other hand , showed that a solution is possible if Indians have the will, by speaking in all 5 languages plus English.
English has always been with us ever since the famous Macaulay’s Minutes. But despite the dominance of English in the 19 and early 20 th centuries English language & literature actually nourished writing in regional languages. This was a point made by the Malayalam poet and spokesperson Sri. K.S .Menon . O.N.V. himself amplified it.
The IT revolution and globalization have changed the equations drastically. English language has become, as Prof.Deepak Pawar,of the Marathi Abhyas
Kendra put it , the default tool of cultural globalization. Besides being the vehicle of the culture of a people, language has an economic and political aspect. Now these aspects alone seem to matter for the aam janta and the sarkar. Both Prof. Pawar & Dr. Prakash Parab of MAK stressed the need to offer economic incentives to people, Marathi-speaking or not, who take the trouble to learn Marathi. Mr. Rammohan Khanapurkar spoke of technological solutions which can make the IT revolution more inclusive. He blamed the State Govt. for not aggrsseively implementing Unicode which is the standard encoding for Indian Languages Computing. Dr. Gurunath D. Joshi , President of the Karnataka Sangha, Mumbai also opined that the Karnataka govt. should persuade the soft ware companies to develop all the technical infrastructure.
Next to English, Hindi is seen as another carnivore in the Indian language jungle. Bollywood has made Hindi so delectable. And the various Central Govt. iniatives in popularizing it have really worked well. Thus a big area of our mindspace or tongue space is cornered by either or both these languages in the metros and even the interiors.
How does O.N.V. view the language/ culture scene ? He expressed deep respect and gratitude to the English language which had thrown open the windows to the intellectual ideological treasure houses of the West, including Marxism. Quoting Arnold Toynbee, he said the most effective weapon that the British wielded was an unseen weapon . It was the English language. But the subdued people acquired that missile and used it against the Empire. The poet’s advice was to treat English as an honoured guest. Entertain it as you would a guest, in the drawing room and dining room. But don’t take it to the bedroom !
The fears of the death of our languages and the emergence of a boring , uniform culture are not unjustified. But I find certain counter forces emerging which can see to the flourishing of local cultures and languages. These Samajams, Sangams and Kendras are themselves a hopeful sign. I
spoke about the oral tradition through which I acquired the beautiful poetic fragments of my mother tongue as well as of Sanskrit. Oral tradition of the tech kind is being established by the cassette industry now. One of the three youngsters who recited O.N.V.’s poems had learned ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ from the cassette.
The regional channels with their music reality shows and poetry recitation contests are attracting the youth towards their linguistic traditions. The cinema is another force which can keep the linguistic communities connected. Some parents are , with a will, passing on their love of the mother tongue to the children. Ancient rites and rituals like the ‘ Athirathram ’ in Panjal, the popularity of Poorams , Vedies , Melas and the fesivals seem to promise the survival of some cultural diversity .
Published in City Journal on Monday 11th April, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
A Day with O.N.V. Part I
The 27th of March , 2011. It was a Sunday with a difference for an incredible
number of Mumbai Mallus like me when they got the opportunity to spend the whole day with Jnananpeeth awardee, PadmaVibhushan ,Ottaplakkal /plavil Nambiadikkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup. I ferreted out this full name of our beloved poet from the Net. Mea culpa ! Strange that I didn’t know it before nor felt the need to know , considering that O.N.V. has been so much a part of my consciousness , growing up as I did to the echoing music of his KPAC songs & film lyrics .
Perhaps it isn’t so strange after all, as I had got to know them all mainly through oral tradition. ‘Ponnarivalambiliyilu kanneriyunnole …….’ is the earliest memory. My father would sing it and explain the metaphor not only for us in the family but also the workers on our land.
What I realize now is that all these heard melodies are only the tip of the iceberg. They are what make him a cult figure of popular culture, a poet of the masses. Those unheard or less heard ones , the more meaning-laden poems of oceanic depth & cosmic breadth which form the iceberg are what make him a true successor to his illustrious predecessors in Malayalam poetry. A poet of the classes, too,in other words, though he might not like this sort of differentiation of people into masses and classes.
The Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana , Bombay or Maha – Keraleeyam had organized this grand meet at the Manav Seva Sangh Hall in King Circle. The event had 2 parts. The morning was for the celebration and the felicitation. The afternoon’s highlight was a Multilingual Seminar. Maha Keraleeyam, by the way, stands for Maharashtra Keraleeyam. So local MLA, Eknath Gaekwad was the VIP guest. Well he was bowled over when he heard himself
being welcomed in chaste Marathi by the Malayali hostess. Gaekwad was all praise for the Mumbai Malayalis who try to preserve not only the Malayali culture but are also thoughtful about furthering the cause of Maharashtrian culture.
Then it was a rain of roses for O.N.V , roses from various organizations and individuals….The flowers were followed by something even more amazing - a musical rendering of three of his poems, ‘ Pengal’, ‘ Sooryageetham’ and ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ by three Mumbai youngsters of the school-college age group… I shall be reverting to this beautiful experience later .
The most memorable part of the forenoon was , of course, O.N.V’s speech, his response to all the affection and adulation showered on him by Mumbai Malayalees. “Amidst all the difficulties and sorrows which beset all of us nearly always , there are certain moments when we feel that it is nice to be alive. This is one such moment for me. ”, he began thus, in typical style , establishing rapport with common humanity instantaneously and covered a lot of ground in a brief while. He spoke of his intimate connection with the city, the innumerable visits after that first visit to Mumbai in the company of P.B. Sreenivas & Devarajan in 1952 when they were received at the station by the Titans of the Indian People’s Theatre Association , K.A.Abbas & Balraj Sahni.
He touched upon the current crazes and curses. Jeremiah-like, he cautioned us, his people against the false gods of big money and material wealth , against the arrogance of tall towers and big structures which belittle the human being. He had an answer , a concrete answer to the age old question – (as old as Plato !) : Of what use is poetry ?. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and P.B. Shelley had answered this question in their own ways.
O.N.V.’s answer is “ Go and see the Silent Valley National Park. That is the monument to the power of poetry.” The voices of a handful of poets like
Sugatha Kumari, Ayyappa Panicker, Kadamanitta and O.N.V . were heard and listened to in Delhi and this treasure house of nature was saved.
Time flew as we sat enjoying the poetic meal for the soul. Soon it was time for the sadya for the stomach. And it was, indeed, a lavish feast !
Published in City journal on 4th April, 2011
A Day With O.N.V.
[ Part I ]
By Lakshmi Padmanabhan
The 27th of March , 2011. It was a Sunday with a difference for an incredible
number of Mumbai Mallus like me when they got the opportunity to spend the whole day with Jnananpeeth awardee, PadmaVibhushan ,Ottaplakkal /plavil Nambiadikkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup. I ferreted out this full name of our beloved poet from the Net. Mea culpa ! Strange that I didn’t know it before nor felt the need to know , considering that O.N.V. has been so much a part of my consciousness , growing up as I did to the echoing music of his KPAC songs & film lyrics .
Perhaps it isn’t so strange after all, as I had got to know them all mainly through oral tradition. ‘Ponnarivalambiliyilu kanneriyunnole …….’ is the earliest memory. My father would sing it and explain the metaphor not only for us in the family but also the workers on our land.
What I realize now is that all these heard melodies are only the tip of the iceberg. They are what make him a cult figure of popular culture, a poet of the masses. Those unheard or less heard ones , the more meaning-laden poems of oceanic depth & cosmic breadth which form the iceberg are what make him a true successor to his illustrious predecessors in Malayalam poetry. A poet of the classes, too,in other words, though he might not like this sort of differentiation of people into masses and classes.
The Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana , Bombay or Maha – Keraleeyam had organized this grand meet at the Manav Seva Sangh Hall in King Circle. The event had 2 parts. The morning was for the celebration and the felicitation. The afternoon’s highlight was a Multilingual Seminar. Maha Keraleeyam, by the way, stands for Maharashtra Keraleeyam. So local MLA, Eknath Gaekwad was the VIP guest. Well he was bowled over when he heard himself
being welcomed in chaste Marathi by the Malayali hostess. Gaekwad was all praise for the Mumbai Malayalis who try to preserve not only the Malayali culture but are also thoughtful about furthering the cause of Maharashtrian culture.
Then it was a rain of roses for O.N.V , roses from various organizations and individuals….The flowers were followed by something even more amazing - a musical rendering of three of his poems, ‘ Pengal’, ‘ Sooryageetham’ and ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ by three Mumbai youngsters of the school-college age group… I shall be reverting to this beautiful experience later .
The most memorable part of the forenoon was , of course, O.N.V’s speech, his response to all the affection and adulation showered on him by Mumbai Malayalees. “Amidst all the difficulties and sorrows which beset all of us nearly always , there are certain moments when we feel that it is nice to be alive. This is one such moment for me. ”, he began thus, in typical style , establishing rapport with common humanity instantaneously and covered a lot of ground in a brief while. He spoke of his intimate connection with the city, the innumerable visits after that first visit to Mumbai in the company of P.B. Sreenivas & Devarajan in 1952 when they were received at the station by the Titans of the Indian People’s Theatre Association , K.A.Abbas & Balraj Sahni.
He touched upon the current crazes and curses. Jeremiah-like, he cautioned us, his people against the false gods of big money and material wealth , against the arrogance of tall towers and big structures which belittle the human being. He had an answer , a concrete answer to the age old question – (as old as Plato !) : Of what use is poetry ?. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and P.B. Shelley had answered this question in their own ways.
O.N.V.’s answer is “ Go and see the Silent Valley National Park. That is the monument to the power of poetry.” The voices of a handful of poets like
Sugatha Kumari, Ayyappa Panicker, Kadamanitta and O.N.V . were heard and listened to in Delhi and this treasure house of nature was saved.
Time flew as we sat enjoying the poetic meal for the soul. Soon it was time for the sadya for the stomach. And it was, indeed, a lavish feast !
---------------------------------------------------------------------
A Day With O.N.V.
[ Part I ]
By Lakshmi Padmanabhan
The 27th of March , 2011. It was a Sunday with a difference for an incredible
number of Mumbai Mallus like me when they got the opportunity to spend the whole day with Jnananpeeth awardee, PadmaVibhushan ,Ottaplakkal /plavil Nambiadikkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup. I ferreted out this full name of our beloved poet from the Net. Mea culpa ! Strange that I didn’t know it before nor felt the need to know , considering that O.N.V. has been so much a part of my consciousness , growing up as I did to the echoing music of his KPAC songs & film lyrics .
Perhaps it isn’t so strange after all, as I had got to know them all mainly through oral tradition. ‘Ponnarivalambiliyilu kanneriyunnole …….’ is the earliest memory. My father would sing it and explain the metaphor not only for us in the family but also the workers on our land.
What I realize now is that all these heard melodies are only the tip of the iceberg. They are what make him a cult figure of popular culture, a poet of the masses. Those unheard or less heard ones , the more meaning-laden poems of oceanic depth & cosmic breadth which form the iceberg are what make him a true successor to his illustrious predecessors in Malayalam poetry. A poet of the classes, too,in other words, though he might not like this sort of differentiation of people into masses and classes.
The Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana , Bombay or Maha – Keraleeyam had organized this grand meet at the Manav Seva Sangh Hall in King Circle. The event had 2 parts. The morning was for the celebration and the felicitation. The afternoon’s highlight was a Multilingual Seminar. Maha Keraleeyam, by the way, stands for Maharashtra Keraleeyam. So local MLA, Eknath Gaekwad was the VIP guest. Well he was bowled over when he heard himself
being welcomed in chaste Marathi by the Malayali hostess. Gaekwad was all praise for the Mumbai Malayalis who try to preserve not only the Malayali culture but are also thoughtful about furthering the cause of Maharashtrian culture.
Then it was a rain of roses for O.N.V , roses from various organizations and individuals….The flowers were followed by something even more amazing - a musical rendering of three of his poems, ‘ Pengal’, ‘ Sooryageetham’ and ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ by three Mumbai youngsters of the school-college age group… I shall be reverting to this beautiful experience later .
The most memorable part of the forenoon was , of course, O.N.V’s speech, his response to all the affection and adulation showered on him by Mumbai Malayalees. “Amidst all the difficulties and sorrows which beset all of us nearly always , there are certain moments when we feel that it is nice to be alive. This is one such moment for me. ”, he began thus, in typical style , establishing rapport with common humanity instantaneously and covered a lot of ground in a brief while. He spoke of his intimate connection with the city, the innumerable visits after that first visit to Mumbai in the company of P.B. Sreenivas & Devarajan in 1952 when they were received at the station by the Titans of the Indian People’s Theatre Association , K.A.Abbas & Balraj Sahni.
He touched upon the current crazes and curses. Jeremiah-like, he cautioned us, his people against the false gods of big money and material wealth , against the arrogance of tall towers and big structures which belittle the human being. He had an answer , a concrete answer to the age old question – (as old as Plato !) : Of what use is poetry ?. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and P.B. Shelley had answered this question in their own ways.
O.N.V.’s answer is “ Go and see the Silent Valley National Park. That is the monument to the power of poetry.” The voices of a handful of poets like
Sugatha Kumari, Ayyappa Panicker, Kadamanitta and O.N.V . were heard and listened to in Delhi and this treasure house of nature was saved.
Time flew as we sat enjoying the poetic meal for the soul. Soon it was time for the sadya for the stomach. And it was, indeed, a lavish feast !
---------------------------------------------------------------------
number of Mumbai Mallus like me when they got the opportunity to spend the whole day with Jnananpeeth awardee, PadmaVibhushan ,Ottaplakkal /plavil Nambiadikkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup. I ferreted out this full name of our beloved poet from the Net. Mea culpa ! Strange that I didn’t know it before nor felt the need to know , considering that O.N.V. has been so much a part of my consciousness , growing up as I did to the echoing music of his KPAC songs & film lyrics .
Perhaps it isn’t so strange after all, as I had got to know them all mainly through oral tradition. ‘Ponnarivalambiliyilu kanneriyunnole …….’ is the earliest memory. My father would sing it and explain the metaphor not only for us in the family but also the workers on our land.
What I realize now is that all these heard melodies are only the tip of the iceberg. They are what make him a cult figure of popular culture, a poet of the masses. Those unheard or less heard ones , the more meaning-laden poems of oceanic depth & cosmic breadth which form the iceberg are what make him a true successor to his illustrious predecessors in Malayalam poetry. A poet of the classes, too,in other words, though he might not like this sort of differentiation of people into masses and classes.
The Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana , Bombay or Maha – Keraleeyam had organized this grand meet at the Manav Seva Sangh Hall in King Circle. The event had 2 parts. The morning was for the celebration and the felicitation. The afternoon’s highlight was a Multilingual Seminar. Maha Keraleeyam, by the way, stands for Maharashtra Keraleeyam. So local MLA, Eknath Gaekwad was the VIP guest. Well he was bowled over when he heard himself
being welcomed in chaste Marathi by the Malayali hostess. Gaekwad was all praise for the Mumbai Malayalis who try to preserve not only the Malayali culture but are also thoughtful about furthering the cause of Maharashtrian culture.
Then it was a rain of roses for O.N.V , roses from various organizations and individuals….The flowers were followed by something even more amazing - a musical rendering of three of his poems, ‘ Pengal’, ‘ Sooryageetham’ and ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ by three Mumbai youngsters of the school-college age group… I shall be reverting to this beautiful experience later .
The most memorable part of the forenoon was , of course, O.N.V’s speech, his response to all the affection and adulation showered on him by Mumbai Malayalees. “Amidst all the difficulties and sorrows which beset all of us nearly always , there are certain moments when we feel that it is nice to be alive. This is one such moment for me. ”, he began thus, in typical style , establishing rapport with common humanity instantaneously and covered a lot of ground in a brief while. He spoke of his intimate connection with the city, the innumerable visits after that first visit to Mumbai in the company of P.B. Sreenivas & Devarajan in 1952 when they were received at the station by the Titans of the Indian People’s Theatre Association , K.A.Abbas & Balraj Sahni.
He touched upon the current crazes and curses. Jeremiah-like, he cautioned us, his people against the false gods of big money and material wealth , against the arrogance of tall towers and big structures which belittle the human being. He had an answer , a concrete answer to the age old question – (as old as Plato !) : Of what use is poetry ?. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and P.B. Shelley had answered this question in their own ways.
O.N.V.’s answer is “ Go and see the Silent Valley National Park. That is the monument to the power of poetry.” The voices of a handful of poets like
Sugatha Kumari, Ayyappa Panicker, Kadamanitta and O.N.V . were heard and listened to in Delhi and this treasure house of nature was saved.
Time flew as we sat enjoying the poetic meal for the soul. Soon it was time for the sadya for the stomach. And it was, indeed, a lavish feast !
Published in City journal on 4th April, 2011
A Day With O.N.V.
[ Part I ]
By Lakshmi Padmanabhan
The 27th of March , 2011. It was a Sunday with a difference for an incredible
number of Mumbai Mallus like me when they got the opportunity to spend the whole day with Jnananpeeth awardee, PadmaVibhushan ,Ottaplakkal /plavil Nambiadikkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup. I ferreted out this full name of our beloved poet from the Net. Mea culpa ! Strange that I didn’t know it before nor felt the need to know , considering that O.N.V. has been so much a part of my consciousness , growing up as I did to the echoing music of his KPAC songs & film lyrics .
Perhaps it isn’t so strange after all, as I had got to know them all mainly through oral tradition. ‘Ponnarivalambiliyilu kanneriyunnole …….’ is the earliest memory. My father would sing it and explain the metaphor not only for us in the family but also the workers on our land.
What I realize now is that all these heard melodies are only the tip of the iceberg. They are what make him a cult figure of popular culture, a poet of the masses. Those unheard or less heard ones , the more meaning-laden poems of oceanic depth & cosmic breadth which form the iceberg are what make him a true successor to his illustrious predecessors in Malayalam poetry. A poet of the classes, too,in other words, though he might not like this sort of differentiation of people into masses and classes.
The Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana , Bombay or Maha – Keraleeyam had organized this grand meet at the Manav Seva Sangh Hall in King Circle. The event had 2 parts. The morning was for the celebration and the felicitation. The afternoon’s highlight was a Multilingual Seminar. Maha Keraleeyam, by the way, stands for Maharashtra Keraleeyam. So local MLA, Eknath Gaekwad was the VIP guest. Well he was bowled over when he heard himself
being welcomed in chaste Marathi by the Malayali hostess. Gaekwad was all praise for the Mumbai Malayalis who try to preserve not only the Malayali culture but are also thoughtful about furthering the cause of Maharashtrian culture.
Then it was a rain of roses for O.N.V , roses from various organizations and individuals….The flowers were followed by something even more amazing - a musical rendering of three of his poems, ‘ Pengal’, ‘ Sooryageetham’ and ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ by three Mumbai youngsters of the school-college age group… I shall be reverting to this beautiful experience later .
The most memorable part of the forenoon was , of course, O.N.V’s speech, his response to all the affection and adulation showered on him by Mumbai Malayalees. “Amidst all the difficulties and sorrows which beset all of us nearly always , there are certain moments when we feel that it is nice to be alive. This is one such moment for me. ”, he began thus, in typical style , establishing rapport with common humanity instantaneously and covered a lot of ground in a brief while. He spoke of his intimate connection with the city, the innumerable visits after that first visit to Mumbai in the company of P.B. Sreenivas & Devarajan in 1952 when they were received at the station by the Titans of the Indian People’s Theatre Association , K.A.Abbas & Balraj Sahni.
He touched upon the current crazes and curses. Jeremiah-like, he cautioned us, his people against the false gods of big money and material wealth , against the arrogance of tall towers and big structures which belittle the human being. He had an answer , a concrete answer to the age old question – (as old as Plato !) : Of what use is poetry ?. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and P.B. Shelley had answered this question in their own ways.
O.N.V.’s answer is “ Go and see the Silent Valley National Park. That is the monument to the power of poetry.” The voices of a handful of poets like
Sugatha Kumari, Ayyappa Panicker, Kadamanitta and O.N.V . were heard and listened to in Delhi and this treasure house of nature was saved.
Time flew as we sat enjoying the poetic meal for the soul. Soon it was time for the sadya for the stomach. And it was, indeed, a lavish feast !
---------------------------------------------------------------------
A Day With O.N.V.
[ Part I ]
By Lakshmi Padmanabhan
The 27th of March , 2011. It was a Sunday with a difference for an incredible
number of Mumbai Mallus like me when they got the opportunity to spend the whole day with Jnananpeeth awardee, PadmaVibhushan ,Ottaplakkal /plavil Nambiadikkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup. I ferreted out this full name of our beloved poet from the Net. Mea culpa ! Strange that I didn’t know it before nor felt the need to know , considering that O.N.V. has been so much a part of my consciousness , growing up as I did to the echoing music of his KPAC songs & film lyrics .
Perhaps it isn’t so strange after all, as I had got to know them all mainly through oral tradition. ‘Ponnarivalambiliyilu kanneriyunnole …….’ is the earliest memory. My father would sing it and explain the metaphor not only for us in the family but also the workers on our land.
What I realize now is that all these heard melodies are only the tip of the iceberg. They are what make him a cult figure of popular culture, a poet of the masses. Those unheard or less heard ones , the more meaning-laden poems of oceanic depth & cosmic breadth which form the iceberg are what make him a true successor to his illustrious predecessors in Malayalam poetry. A poet of the classes, too,in other words, though he might not like this sort of differentiation of people into masses and classes.
The Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana , Bombay or Maha – Keraleeyam had organized this grand meet at the Manav Seva Sangh Hall in King Circle. The event had 2 parts. The morning was for the celebration and the felicitation. The afternoon’s highlight was a Multilingual Seminar. Maha Keraleeyam, by the way, stands for Maharashtra Keraleeyam. So local MLA, Eknath Gaekwad was the VIP guest. Well he was bowled over when he heard himself
being welcomed in chaste Marathi by the Malayali hostess. Gaekwad was all praise for the Mumbai Malayalis who try to preserve not only the Malayali culture but are also thoughtful about furthering the cause of Maharashtrian culture.
Then it was a rain of roses for O.N.V , roses from various organizations and individuals….The flowers were followed by something even more amazing - a musical rendering of three of his poems, ‘ Pengal’, ‘ Sooryageetham’ and ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ by three Mumbai youngsters of the school-college age group… I shall be reverting to this beautiful experience later .
The most memorable part of the forenoon was , of course, O.N.V’s speech, his response to all the affection and adulation showered on him by Mumbai Malayalees. “Amidst all the difficulties and sorrows which beset all of us nearly always , there are certain moments when we feel that it is nice to be alive. This is one such moment for me. ”, he began thus, in typical style , establishing rapport with common humanity instantaneously and covered a lot of ground in a brief while. He spoke of his intimate connection with the city, the innumerable visits after that first visit to Mumbai in the company of P.B. Sreenivas & Devarajan in 1952 when they were received at the station by the Titans of the Indian People’s Theatre Association , K.A.Abbas & Balraj Sahni.
He touched upon the current crazes and curses. Jeremiah-like, he cautioned us, his people against the false gods of big money and material wealth , against the arrogance of tall towers and big structures which belittle the human being. He had an answer , a concrete answer to the age old question – (as old as Plato !) : Of what use is poetry ?. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and P.B. Shelley had answered this question in their own ways.
O.N.V.’s answer is “ Go and see the Silent Valley National Park. That is the monument to the power of poetry.” The voices of a handful of poets like
Sugatha Kumari, Ayyappa Panicker, Kadamanitta and O.N.V . were heard and listened to in Delhi and this treasure house of nature was saved.
Time flew as we sat enjoying the poetic meal for the soul. Soon it was time for the sadya for the stomach. And it was, indeed, a lavish feast !
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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