“Padapathat Abeleer Kabita” poetry session held in Guwahati

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: On the first day of every month, the Chandmari Street opposite the All India Radio office witnesses an impromptu assembly of poets. People from various strata of life come together and share their poems under a platform named “Padapathat Abeleer Kabita”, which roughly translates to “Evening poetry on the footpath”. On Saturday, the session was inaugurated by Dr. Binu Borah and over 50 poets recited their poems. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, the tradition was started by Kamala Kanta Deka over a decade ago. Deka runs a pan-shop at Chandmari and is a newspaper hawker in the morning. For the love of poetry, he started the platform at the Chandmari bus stand and in 2009; the banner named “Padapathat Abeleer Kabita” was formed. Currently, he is the secretary of the platform and it sees the participation of 50 to 100 poets every month. In every session, the poets also review each other’s pieces and sometimes, the best ones are awarded. They don’t need any air-conditioned rooms or a fancy stage. At the end of every year, ‘Padapathat Abeleer Kabita’ is released as a book with the compilation of all the poems recited throughout the year.

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