Poetry Darbaar Aims To Bring Poetry Back In People's Lives

Picture mixed groups of enthusiastic poets converging together every month at a decked up venue for their common love for poetry and one person with few volunteers organizing it  month after month with perfection. The event is Poetry Darbaar and the person behind this successful initiative working tirelessly is the one who started it- Indrajit Ghoshal.

Before the pandemic brought our lives to a halt, Indrajit would organise the events in Delhi NCR almost every month. Indrajit also did some online events while the pandemic was raging outside and after the pandemic had run its course, he brought back Poetry Darbaar's offline events again.

 Over the years since its inception, Poetry Darbaar has managed to bring together poets from diverse backgrounds who share their love for versifying.

 "I started Poetry Darbaar in Gurgaon back in 2016 without much expectations. I was over the moon when I saw the first event was attended by close to fifty people and 80% of them came from Delhi. That bolstered me to take it ahead and make it a monthly soiree," a beaming Indrajit told us.

 Interestingly, Indrajit's Poetry Darbaar does not restrict itself to any group, there are no fees to perform either. Indrajit added, "From the onset, I was clear that I won't restrict this initiative within a few set of people. Let everyone come. Anyone who is genuiny interested to listen and/or recite has always been welcome. I like to call this a democratic space."

Swati Jha, an MA student who is a  prolific Hindi poet and is working towards promoting Maithili language says, " I keep going to poetry events, there are college fests and department events too. I haven't seen this kind of vibe anywhere. There are elderlies, students, working professionals and others coming together and it's very  heartening." 

Poetry Darbaar atracts poets from other countries too.  Asmaul Husna from Bangladesh who is here for her Masters, says, "I wanted to come to Poetry Darbaar since long. When I asked Indrajit about the process to register, he simply stated that I just needed to walk in on time and the rest will be managed. I went to February 2022 event in Gurgaon and it was a wonderful experience. Three hours passed in a jiff and everything was meticulously handled."

Besides the Hindustani poetry events,  the latest entrant is the spoken word poetry which has seen an active presence in the capital and is thriving. According to Ridhi Bhutani, an English spoken word poet who has taken numerous poetry workshops under the banner of Poetry Darbaar and independently says, " The best part about this initiative is there is no politics. Everyone is given an opportunity. This collective has opened avenues for me for which I would always remain grateful."

Gayatri Mehta, who started her poetic journey with Poetry Darbaar and  is a  renowned Urdu poet today, mentions how it is important to learn from others and also seek appreciation and Poetry Darbaar gives us the avenue. She adds, "I think every newcomer who wants to learn the nuances of this art form should come to Poetry Darbaar and like Indrajit says, all they need to do is just walk in."

 The founder, Indrajit Ghoshal, who is a working professional in the private sector emphasizes on the need of poetry in our lives by quoting one of the very famous lines from the movie, Dead Poets Society before signing off- "Poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."

For people who want to follow this marvellous poetry space, the instagram handle is @poetry_darbaar and the link to follow is  https://www.instagram.com/poetry_darbaar/