Poetry has resided in the hearts of Chandigarhians since times immemorial and now there’s something of a movement going about to bring it out of the hearts and into the open for the poetry lovers of the tricity to revel in.
What : Chalte Chalte: Juan Elia
When : March 11, 2018 | 4PM onwards
Where: Garden of Fragrance, Sector 36
We may not be fully aware of it, but poetry has been a part of our lives right from the time we were children. From rote learning children’s jingles to analysing poetry as part of our school syllabus, to dancing to lyrical beats of poetry hidden within our favourite songs – it has been around even when we weren’t proactively looking for it.
Poetry has taught us many a lesson in life that we weren’t aware we learnt through a simple weaving together of words. It is the expression of human experience, of feelings, of thoughts and emotions. It is poetry that has, in many ways, taught us about the aesthetic balance of life and showed us what is truly beautiful in the world.
Recognising this role that poetry plays in all of our lives and wanting a platform for those who celebrate the love of poetry, the minds behind Cross Connection Poetree started meeting every month to bring verses to the general public in a free and open environment. They meet every month and recite poetry for any and every one who wants to listen, usually with a predetermined concept for every meeting, giving their segment the title ‘Chalte Chalte’.
This Sunday, Cross Connection Poetree is bringing Chalte Chalte: Juan Elia to the Garden of Fragrances as a salute to and for the love of Juan Elia’s evergreen verses. A popular Pakistani poet, scholar, and philosopher, Juan Elia was born in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh in 1931 and eventually moved to independent Pakistan in 1957. Communist in ideology, Elia was against the idea of living in an independent Muslim state, and was known to be unconventional in his ways. His poetry reflected a deep sense of loneliness, nihilism, and the despair of separation.
Juan Elia’s poetry tugs at the chords of grief within each of us and that’s the beauty of his shayari. It’s not every day that someone recites such beautiful poetry under a clear open sky. It is the one not to be missed.
