Thiruvananthapuram: The conversation on the topic ‘Who cares for a poet? Is poetry relevant in a fractured, polarized world?’ held at Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL’19) discussed relevance of poetry in the current world. Bilingual poet, translator and publisher Sarabjeet Garcha, poet Medha Singh, literary curator and poet Sonnet Mondal, Professor of English and poet Ashes Gupta and poet Gopikrishnan Kottoor participated in the conversation.

As the moderator, Gopikrishnan started the conversation saying that poets are in an ambivalent position and the status of poets itself is polarized between a seer and a joker. Ashes Gupta said that a poet fills the gap between reality and imagination. The northeast states where he belongs are always in turmoil. In such regions, the task of a poet is even larger because they have to represent the social issues in their poetry.

He also said that going after the mythology and old texts is only like looking into the rear view mirror. Ashes Gupta added that we have to find the 'beautility' - beauty of utility – in the poetry. He emphasized on the point that university departments of literary subjects are not intended for creating poets, but they only teach the students to do the post-mortem of poetry.

Medha Singh, being a poet and poetry editor, said that she would not want to shut out the positive future for poetry by rejecting the presently available platforms like online poetry journals and others. She underlined the fact that poetry exists silently everywhere and has a regular audience. The huge number of readers for online poetry platforms is an example for this, she said.

She added that it is not the poets’ job to write lies and spread falsehoods among the readers. She stated that the industrial culture has inculcated a culture of utilitarianism into the world and it makes people seek purpose of everything including poetry. Though poetry is useless in this sense, it silently survives and influences people, she said.

Sarabjeet Garcha said that poetry is still relevant because it conveys message and meaning far better than prose. He also said that poetry cannot be a job in our country because it is not funded properly. On the contrary, poetry can be a career in foreign countries. He also shared his expectation that things will change in this part of the world.

Sonnet Mondal described how much ordinary poets he has met with in Kolkata. Even the labourers and porters write poems which is a matter of amazement. He also said that he as successful in his career because he is a poet.

After the session, moderator Gopikrishnan Kottoor handed over mementos to Sarabjeet Garcha, Medha Singh, Sonnet Mondal, and Ashes Gupta. The programme was conducted at the Poetree at Kanakakkunnu at 3 in the afternoon. Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters 2019 is conducted in eight venues here from January 31 to February 3.