Although over the past four years a lot of events have been happening in the Doon valley as far as literature is concerned, it is for the first time that a poetry festival is being held in the valley.
Being held by the organisers of the Dehradun Literature Festival (which has already been held twice-once in 2017 and once in 2018) , the festival will host renowned Urdu poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar and well-known actress Shabana Azmi who will both recite the poetry of Kaifi Azmi to mark his birth centenary year celebrations Celebrations have already been held in many places and will continue throughout the year. Kaifi Azmi was born on January 14, 1919.
The two-day poetry festival will provide a platform to poets of Uttarakhand as well as those coming in from other cities. The event has come in as a breath of fresh air as it will focus on the beauty and intensity of poetry. It will bring forth the spirit of poetry and help people connect to it in an informal atmosphere. The event also aims at putting the youngsters present in touch with the spirit of Indian poetry and culture in a manner which they may not have encountered yet.
Kaifi Azmi’s poems will be recited by others too .Poets from the Doon valley will also recite their own poetry on March 29. There have been some events earlier where a poetry evening was held in Dehradun. However, a poetry festival of this kind will be witnessed for the first time. In literature festivals, poetry sometimes gets sidelined and the sheer joy of hearing poets recite may not be felt for long. The festival promises to bring back poetry “in a new way”. Recitals as well as reading out in “tarannum” is on the cards. Well-known writer Rakshanda Jalil will be in conversation with Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi. The festival is dedicated to the memory of Kaifi Azmi.
Actor Virendra Saxena will also grace the event. Doon’s poet Ambar Kharbanda will interact with him.
Festival curator Anurag Chauhan said that the aim was to celebrate the spontaneity and aesthetics of poetry in a fresh manner and rejuvenate peoples’ interest in this literary genre. “Paying tribute to the legendary poet Kaifi Azmi would be a great way of launching the Dehrdaun Poetry Festival”, he said.
Javed Sa’ab and Shabana ji have earlier visited the Doon valley. They were there for the IMA’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Javed Akhtar has written the IMA song. It was sung for the first time by the Gentlemen cadets that year in his presence. The song is “Bharat Mata Teri Kasam, Tere Rakshak Rahenge Ham.” This song has created an eternal bond between Doon valley and Javed Akhtar. The festival will be held on the evenings of March 29 and March 30 at Pacific Mall.
So this spring season in the Doon valley will see a gentle shower of poetry .The festival comes in good time as it was World Poetry Day on March 21. The song of spring will be sung in Doon this year