Finding Life In Words! - Bhubaneswar Poetry Club

“In 2015, taking forward the idea of poetry presentation, Anshuman, Dibyaswarupa, Adyasha, Padma, Ananta, Sourav and Nikila started as a Facebook chat group only. Finally, the group met, and came into existence ‘Bhubaneswar Poetry Slam’, later being changed to ‘Bhubaneswar Poetry Club’.

We began as a group of enthusiasts who believed in presenting poems outside the context of books and wanted to nourish the culture of spoken word poetry. Why be a poet or performer, when you can be both! Eventually people started joining us and we grew as a community into a club, as known today.

We have been operational for 6 years now. We started an event, ‘Ars Poetica’, which has no linguistic or other restrictions to the form of poetry, and have had 17 editions of it. We conduct ‘Parenthesis’, in which we conduct a workshop on slam poetry, followed by a competition and also a lot of other events, like ‘Ekphrasis’, and ‘Canopy’.

In 2018, we had the opportunity to conduct ‘Human Library. We are the first ones in Odisha with license from the original Human Library Forum in Denmark. The event was a huge success, and we are looking forward to organizing more of it. We have had 2 sessions of ‘Jingle Spells’, which is another huge event. In the 1st edition, we wrote poems, printed them, and hid them in the books of libraries and cafes. The 2nd edition was a culmination of art forms, where we celebrated poetry, music, and had local artists showcase their talents.

We have had our share in the Kalinga Literary Festival. We have been called to judge events in IIT KGP, AIIMS and others. We do events in different cafes in town. While some let us do them for free, some demand a minimum billing to be generated from the gathering. We are also planning to conduct a large-scale poetry festival, pairing up with places to share mutual benefits. During the lockdown, we pulled off a series of online events, which went by the name ‘Rete Poetica’.

We also send out email newsletters, called ‘Love and Light’, trying to share joy through our efforts. We are completely community driven and each one who has attended our events is a part of us and has enriched us.” – Bhubaneswar Poetry Club

Groomin' Talents - Saugato

""I grew up in a musician-filled family. But, as for me, I couldn't sing well nor could I play an instrument. I had a soft corner for music and wanted to do something along that line. I knew that even if I could not create music, I can surely curate it.

In college, for the want of pocket money, I used my connections and began organizing concerts. After repeated endeavors as such, I lost my interest in B.Tech(not that I had any in the beginning). My contacts and my shows increased. During this time, I also made sure to support and bring up as many new talents as possible. . 

With a job in hand, I went to Bangalore. There, I did pub shows. Gradually, after much research and introspection, I decided to quit my job and pursue Music Supervision in Mumbai. I gained a lot of insights from Azeem Dayani and Ankur Tewari(renowned music supervisors of Bollywood). 

Then, Covid happened. I had to come back home and here, I met a friend, Siddharth. Both of us started the music supervision trend here. We groomed a lot of new talents and made a number of songs.  

Being an RJ is also a part of my life. I have interviewed a lot of celebrities. Radio marked the start of my entire journey. I have been opportunistic to meet my favourites like Shaan, A.R. Rahman and others.

Odisha has a lot of potential artists. Being the first music supervisor of Odisha, I plan to provide a platform for all our budding Odia singers and cast them alongside big names of the music industry. Good things are in the pipeline!" - Saugato.

Becoming A Voice For The Deprived- Subasmita Jena

"I look for stories in everything around me, stories that need to be told and heard. I wanted to be that force of change. So, I tried bootstrapping events to raise funds for the deprived.

Birla Global University marked the start of my journey as a  storyteller, through the medium of vlogging.

Being a director, I wanted people to be aware about the lives of underprivileged people. I started working at an NGO to gain deeper knowledge. I was enlightened about their struggles, their silence and their helplessness.  I came up with my first short film Duhita, recently.

I hope my film can help people to realise underprivileged people need our support, empathy and kindness. They have so much potential; all they need is our hand reaching out to lift them up a little bit." - Subasmita Jena.

Importance Of Education - Shweta Agarwal

“In 2013, I was crossing through a basti on a Diwali night with my husband, with no lights in that area. The next year, we planned to secretly keep hand-painted diya packets in front of their doors, but some of the children saw us and declared it before everyone. Those kids shared all the diyas within themselves and their friends. This incident sparked in our hearts the desire to do something more for such underprivileged kids.

In 2015, we started with small painting events in bastis, and while most were drawing mountains and valleys, one kid drew an airport with an airplane, and said that he wanted to become a pilot. There I realized that regular intervention is required to build these children up, so that they can achieve what they dream of.

‘Unmukt Foundation’ was born in 2017, and we rented a small space in Khandagiri. We designed the entire place using waste furniture, and the table was made of an MRI machine cover. On the first day, around 50 children had come, and one of them said that he wanted to become a lift-operator like his uncle, who gets paid only for pressing buttons in an elevator. Another said that he wanted to become a thief so that he would not have to work, and eat stolen food.

One year down the line, in Unmukt, the same children now want to become robotic engineers, artists, leaders, with their dreams having no limit. As I was Hindi speaking, initially most parents used to bang the door on my face - as they were apprehensive about our teaching methods. After 2 years of persuasion, now even in COVID, children come at 5:30 am for self-defense class. During lockdown, we did our classes on footpath even. We had started as a creativity center with classes on weekends, but children loved our approach and us too, due to which we soon become a learning center where we do classes 6-7 days a week.

I had to change schools due to a financial crisis at my home, and I did not want anyone to lack behind in education due to financial issues. When I quit my corporate job as a healthcare architect, I knew from the bottom of my heart, that I wanted to work for education. When you give children the freedom to choose what they want to do, and provide a safe space to excel with their peers, they bloom and shine!” – Shweta Agarwal.

 

Who Says You Can't Be The Best? - Pramita Mohapatra

"I was very slim a girl, but due to a disorder, my weight shot up to 85kgs. I lost my hair and scars developed on my face. My entire look changed and so did my lifestyle, in general. I no longer could participate in school activities. My Principal and school teachers loved me and thus, were taken aback by my lack of participation and deteriorating academics. Moreover, some of my "friends" teased me because of my weight. However. I am glad that I didn't let myself hit rock-bottom because of my circumstances. I knew writing, debating are my strong points and I continued with them. 

In 2015. I went to a mall with my mother. We came across the advertisement for a Femina's pageant and my Mom asked me to enroll in it. Shocked, I asked her how could she even think that I would become a model. But, my Mom insisted and I gave in. I worked out, lost very little weight and went to become a finalist in the event. This was a confidence booster. 

Within 2 years after that event, I was the second runners-up in Femina's Campus Princess(East Zone). I had worked tirelessly to reach this position and lost around 30kgs. Besides this, I also improved my academic performance. 2 years of self-love and self-acceptance led me to the highest of highs. Later, at the age of 22, I was awarded the "Kalinga Samaan Award" by the Odisha Government.I have been actively working with UNICEF. We reach out to the women in the rural areas and raise awareness about menstrual hygiene. It's  truly a privilege to be able to help. I, even, got an opportunity to speak at TEDx, which is so overwhelming. 

I would like to encourage my fellow youngsters to believe that whatever they dream is possible. Work towards it and make it your own. And finally, when you do, don't forget to give back to the society and hence, make this world a kinder place." - Pramita Mohapatra.