Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said poetry can serve as a powerful catalyst to hasten the process of social transformation.
Addressing the valedictory session of the 39th World Congress of Poets (WCP) here, Naidu said that poets have the capability to be influencers and opinion-makers and urged them to use their unique ability to shape people’s thoughts, feelings and attitudes to build a better world. Poets from various nations participated in the conference.
Congratulating the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) for organising a confluence of talented poets, the Vice-President said that he was deeply touched by the theme of the poetry conference– “Compassion through Poetry”.
Observing that compassion was innate to all of us, he said “We must realise this and practice it consciously till it becomes our habit and all our actions, subconsciously, exhibit compassion, kindness andpositivity.”
The Vice-President lauded the institution for its abiding commitment to excellence and appreciated its founder Achyuta Samanta for his relentless endeavours towards reforming and transforming lives of millions of Adivasi people.
Naidu said poetry was one of the finest expressions of human emotions and conveys the deepest insights, a wide range of emotions and elevates human experience to highest levels of consciousness.
“Poetry has a great impact on the inner chemistry of human emotions. How we perceive, how we respond and how we behave — all this is shaped by literature and fine arts to a large extent,” he added.
He said India’s tryst with poetry was as old as its civilisation. He spoke of the great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and said that they were among the finest specimens of poetry ever written, celebrated world over for the grandeur of their themes, their extraordinary literary heights and the depth of messages they convey.
Emphasising that it was crucial to promote arts and culture to build an enlightened and healthy society, he said, “Arts nurture creativity in the society. Without a creative voice, a society will become stagnant. Artists enliven lives. They transform our lives and change our perception.”
He urged schools to make poetry reading and appreciation a compulsory part of the curriculum. He also asked universities to encourage literature, arts and humanities education. “We need poets and writers and artists and singers as much as we need doctors, engineers and scientists,” he underscored.
Suggesting that promotion of literature was also an impactful method to preserve and promote languages, the Vice-President said that the best way to preserve or promote any language was to use it extensively in everyday life.
He opined that more and more people should be encouraged to write poetry, stories, novels and dramas in their native languages and called for dedicated measures to preserve, protect and promote mother tongues.
“I also commend Dr Achyuta Samanta for envisioning poetry as the best medium to promote brotherhood and peace,” said Naidu.
In his address, Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal said, “Odisha is a divine land, where Lord Jagannath is also a poet.”
Union Minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi said, “The earliest poetry of the world belonged to Valmiki when he saw the agony of the world.”
WCP president Dr Maurus Young said, “Odisha is a land of poetry. I found many talented young poets here.”
KIIT and KISS founder and 39 th WPC president Dr Achyuta Samanta delivered the welcome address. The highest honour of WCP, ‘Golden Gabel’ was conferred on Dr Samanta by the Vice-President.
While ‘Prodigy Author’ award was given to Anantinee Mishra, author of ‘Treasure of Short Stories’, Most Promising Writer award was conferred on Atmika Patnaik, author of ‘The Journey of a Thousand Miles’.