Tune in to these words...

At the first edition of Spoken held in January 2017, some 6,000 people gathered over two days to celebrate the magic of words. Roshan Abbas, director of the festival and co-founder of Kommune, still finds it hard to believe that people turned up in such large numbers to be a part of this one-of-its-kind festival. Storytellers, poets and musicians came together to share their expressions with an audience that was craving to be swept away in the flow of words. This year again, Spoken 2.0 has lined up an incredible list of artistes from varying genres of poetry, spoken word, fusion music bands and more. So on the one hand, if you have Prateek Kuhad leaving you in a ‘cold mess’ by the end of his performance, there will also be a Mohammad Sadriwala telling you some heart-wrenching stories. Husain Haidry, Rahat Indori, Kubra Sait, Indian Ocean, Danish Husain, Olivia Gatwood, Urban Folk Project and Bhuvan Bam are just a few names in the talented line-up. 

CHANGE IS CONSTANT

The first edition of the fest has left Roshan with a lot of learnings, some practical, others creative. Starting with something that’s really important for any festival – food! “There will be several kinds of food available at the fest, as well as eight bars catering to the audience,” he says with a laugh. The open air theatre space which they had last time, will be converted into a more traditional storytelling space called Goonj, as they felt it suits the platform better. A lot more conversations with some really interesting people, collaborations between artistes and outsourced questions for some of the sessions is also on the agenda. “We realised that a lot of people want to ask questions to the artistes, so they can leave questions for them. We want to make the fest as interactive as possible,” he adds. 

ARTISTES GALLERY

With Kommune holding several workshops and sessions through the year, the group has a fair knowledge of who people want to see at the fest. “A lot of names came to us that way, so in a way, a lot of the artiste curation came to us from the audience. The other day, somebody asked me why Mithila Palkar isn’t on the list. I reached out to her and she said she will definitely do a session. She doesn’t know on what yet, but she will do something! That’s the joy of doing a festival which has people at its heart,” says Roshan. 

Roshan Abbas

Screenwriter and lyricist Kausar Munir, who was part of the first edition of the fest, will be in conversation with a filmmaker. She will also be performing a new piece. For the wordsmith, Kommune and Spoken have helped her discover an entirely different expression of her own. “I am a writer, so I am closer to the process but there are so many people, who might not be professionals but have so much to say and have been given a voice. Even to be a participant among the viewing audience is like being part of that interactive process of sharing ideas, thoughts, getting over your fear of poetry, discovering a new avenue of words, which are not just written but also when they are spoken and performed. Spoken really stands for so many things that words and thoughts can do,” she says.  

Singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad, who has always emphasised on the importance of words, will be performing tonight at the fest and is excited to be part of something that resonates with his philosophy. “I’m coming here as a songwriter, and it makes sense as my songs are more about the words than anything else. I’m just hoping the vibe of the night and setting is conducive to people to be able to just listen in,” he says. The last word belongs to Roshan who just wants people to breathe in the beauty of the spoken word. “At a time when most of them want to just tune out, we invite them to come to the fest and tune in,” he signs off. 

Spoken will be held today and tomorrow at JioGarden, BKC.