Releasing EMOTIONS the way these youngsters do: Youths in the Hills have a new way

Diwakar Prasad, SNS, 7 July 21 : If things are kept confined within ourselves, it will erode our soul and the importance of human life will no longer be cherished. Our thoughts and emotions must find their way out through a stream of poetries and stories, to be felt, to be written and to be listened. In the end, it is our stories and somehow we are all connected to each other. We may be distinct from each other, but one thing which connects us are the lines of the poems and stories that we share.

The warm and cozy environment of cafes in the hills has become venues that attract poets and writers where they share their poems, stories and music. Nothing can match the ambiance of live poetry sessions and a crowd of enthusiasts listening to them, and of course, with a warm cup of tea or coffee.

Such a crowd gathered very recently at 'Cafe Reader's at Bhanugram, Singamari, a joint opened only recently by a former student of St Joseph's College, Pratik Dahal. 

Fourteenth of March, a Saturday, was supposed to be springtime, but clouds still hovered above the Darjeeling skies and dense fog engulfed the area and it was as if the rainy season had already arrived. However, that did not stop very young artists and writers, popular and budding, from making it to the venue that afternoon.

However, once inside Café Reader's, everyone enjoyed the warmth of the wooden walls and the continuous flow of poems performed by at least 23 poets from the hills.

Members of 'Darjeeling Writers' and 'Kurseong Writers; in collaboration with the Café, had organised a poetry and musical session and named it "Scribbles".

Efforts put in by poetess Kritika Dahal (Lubina), Pankaj Shastri, Abhavya, Roshan Sharma, Siddharth Limbu, Pravat Chiso Rai and many others made the event a successful one, while they parted with a promise to meet more often and share their pieces of work with more people. The event was supported by Adarsh Rumba, who is also a writer and a travel vlogger.

The poets who expressed their heart out were Kritika Dahal (Lubina), Pankaj Shastri, Roshan Sharma, Abhavya, Siddharth Limbu, Rosh an Sharma, Kritika Sharma, Adarsh Rumba, Noni Rai (Richa), Rachita Chettri, Britipta Giri, Raju Pokhrel, Yogesh Sharma, Prabinta Bhujel, Muna Gurung, Namita Sharma, Shristi Thapa and Surakhsa Tamang. Amid the volley of poems, Kavya Portel and Wangchuk Sherpa left the gathering mesmerized with their performance of soulful musical numbers.

The idea of such poetry sessions in the hills initially came from a cafe called Suzam's near Ropeway in the town, which provides a majestic view of the mighty Kanchenjunga and the ropeway making its way above the tea gardens of Darjeeling. Members of Darjeeling Writers' succeeded in planning a poetry and a musical session at Suzam's and bringing out talents and letting them open up.

The success of that event led to the formation of 'Kurseong Writers' and 'Sonada Writers,' with members from their respective places.

Everyone has their own perspective towards writing poems and not one idea or the line matches with the other. The feeling of goodness arrives not just by others listening to them, but when we too have the patience to listen, and when the one who is speaking out is loud and bold enough to share his or her story.

As the session at Cafe Reader's started, the excitement and nervousness among budding poets was palpable, even as they fished out their smart-phones, notebooks and even pieces of paper from the pockets and went ahead one by one, reading out their creations they had saved in their gadgets and papers.

" I could feel the magic of poetry and the power of music. At some point, the atmosphere was numb, and sometimes the heart raced. The crowd did feel the power of literature and we all were proud to be a part of it," a member of the audience said.

Members of 'Darjeeling Writers' and 'Kurseong Writers' later said they planned to encourage and provide platform to more youths who wanted to write and share their thoughts on literature in the hills.

PHOTOS: DIWAKAR RAJ, KAVYA PORTEL , ADARSH RUMBA