Even the breeze around Chowlikere waxed lyrical as poets, one after the other, charmed the audience with their words during the ninth edition of Kavita Fest.
Inaugurating the festival, chief guest Pascal Alan Nazareth, a retired diplomat, said that the difference between poetry and prose was the same as that between singing a hymn and reciting it; poetry was language decorated and set to meter and rhythm.
He also praised the efforts of Kavita Trust and its founder-president Melvyn Rodrigues in promoting Konkani and its literature. Basti Vaman Shenoy, president, Konkani Language and Cultural Foundation, said that such festivals were a great opportunity to bring out new talent.
The programme began with the release of Maxim Lobo’s book of essays, “Kavitvacem Nandanvan”, followed by the Maurice and Benedicta D’Souza Memorial Multilingual Poetry Session presided over by poet Purnananda Chari. Yogini Acharya, C.G.S. Taccode, Jnanadev Mallya, Neelba Khandekar, Eric Soans and Felcy Lobo recited their poems in Konkani; Salma in Tamil; and V.K. Yadav in Tulu.
All poems in other languages were translated into Konkani by Mr. Rodrigues for the session. Ms. Salma said that translating works from one regional language to another was a great way to promoting understanding of neighbouring States and their culture.
The finals of poetry recitation competitions for children and youth also took place at the venue. As many as 32 children and youth stood around the stage, excited and nervous. Austin D’Cunha, a student of Lourdes Central School, Mangaluru, said that he had been practising for this competition for the last two months. He said that his parents, especially his father, poet Andrew L. D’Cunha, encouraged him and told him that participation was important, not winning.
Hrishikesh Kadam, a student of Kare College of Law, Goa, said coming to such events was beneficial as they not only got to hear new poems and literature each time, but also learnt new words and phrases.
The day ended with an interaction session with Sahitya Akademi award-winning Konkani poet Ramesh Veluskar. Speaking to The Hindu , he said that festivals such as these were a platform for “blooming petals” of literature. The Mathias Family Poetry Award was presented to Iqbal Sayeedi, a poet from Bhatkal who writes in the Nawayati dialect of Konkani, during the event.
