The Kumaon Literary Festival is being held in Uttarakhand’s little village Dhanachuli from October 23-25.
A cuppa tea amidst hills, poetry and sunset provided a perfect setting for poetry lovers to enjoy the readings on Day 2 of the Kumaon Litfest on Saturday. Sangeeta Khanna, Board Director, Te Aroha conceptualised the session ‘Brewing poetry in the woods’ as she feels that appreciating tea is poetic. “When one is able to recognise how elements of nature like wind, altitude, climatic and geographical conditions affect the characteristics of tea, the tea drinking ritual becomes a poetic experience,” she says. Author and poet Abha Iyengar moderated the session and infused elements of humour to keep the environment light and snug.
Kumaon Litfest Day 1: Bibek Debroy, Anuja Chauhan, Jerry Pinto make their presence felt
Check out a few pictures from Day 2: (All images courtesy: Richa Taneja)
Pratap Somvanshi, senior resident editor of the Hindustan Hindi daily, read poems inspired by his journalistic experiences on the field.
Senior journalist turned poet Menka Shivdasani enthralled the gathering with her nature poems from her latest book ‘Safe House’ – Bird Woman, Tigress and Waterfall.
Up next was Mihir Vatsa who grew up in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh. He awed the audience with his relatable poetry on growing up in a small town from his book Painting That Red Circle White. Mihir’s poems on ‘My mother’ acquired the centre stage and touched people’s hearts.
Author of In Pursuit Of Infidelity Sujata Parashar bounded the audience with her poetry around tea, nature and womanhood.
The audience listened to the readings in rapt attention as Tea Connoisseur Vikram Mittal brewed, explained and made them sample various kinds of tea in between sessions. From flavourful white tea which is one of the healthiest as it is rich in anti-oxidants, to fine Darjeeling tea which is a pure and healthy variety that does not require any additives. The audience also sampled the rhododendron infusion and as they sipped on the floral earl grey, Mittal said the best way to enrich one’s tea experience is to avoid the addition of milk and sugar in it and savour it in its raw form. As the sun began to set, it provided a perfect end to the poetry reading session with masala tea and Kahwa.
Read more about the Kumaon festival here- Uttarakhand’s Dhanachuli hosts first Kumaon Literary Festival
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