Poetry contest on Atal Bihari Vajpayee touches heart of connoisseurs

NAGPUR: Many hues of nature and bravery of the armed forces were beautifully depicted in an open poetry recitation contest organized by Dharampeth MP Deo Memorial Science College as part of its golden jubilee celebrations on Thursday.
This themed poetry contest was organized as a tribute to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose poems are still heard for their rich content. Students and professionals recited thought-provoking poems on themes ‘Jal hai toh jeevan hai’ and ‘Hamare seema prahari’, in honour of the Army personnel serving the country.

Bharti Khadsinghe, a middle-aged professional, kick-started the competition with a beautiful recital of her poetry titled ‘Kyun?’ and delicately depicted the pain of a martyr’s son who has a whirlwind of questions looking at his father’s body. Snehal Khandagale, a student of Dharampeth Polytechnic, questioned the society’s blind eye towards wastage of water in her Marathi poem ‘Mansa re mansa’.

The first prize of the competition went to Neha Hatwar while Vinayak Modak got the second. Aanchal Dawle, a student of Kamla Nehru Mahavidyalaya, won hearts with her Marathi poem ‘Nisarga nisarga kasa re tu’ and also the third prize.

Secretary of Dharampeth Education Society Ratnakar Kekatpure was the chief guest at the poetry session while principal Akhilesh Peshwe presided.

Speaking on the occasion, Kekatpure said, “Vajpayee was not only a great leader but also a poet whose compositions still reside in our hearts. His poetry has been with me all through my life. I still remember how excited we used to be when he presented his poetry at the gatherings of littérateurs. Unfortunately, today’s generation will never experience those soul-stirring poems.”

In his address, Peshwe said, “My faith in the power of poetry has been reestablished, looking at the enthusiastic crowd gathered here. I feel content to know that there are still takers for this art.”

Noted poets Shagufta Kazi and Sandeep Karosiya, who writes under pen name ‘Shyam Saroj’, judged the competition on the basis of subject content, body language, expressions and flow of poetry.