Poetry soothes nerves in times of social distancing

Kolkata: Last Sunday, actor Rudranil Ghosh wrote a poignant poem on how the fate of a widow about to be sent to an old-age home changed once the lockdown was announced. He named it ‘Coronar Ma’ and posted a video of his recitation. A week later, this video has already been shared 26,313 times. That easily overtook the 7,461 views of BBC Radio’s YouTube recording of Irish priest Brother Richard Hendrick viral poem ‘Lockdown’ that was shared on March 21.
Welcome to the times of poetry-reading during lockdown. From kids to veterans, reading of all kinds of verse on social media is giving a breathing space, providing a chance to escape the claustrophobic times of global uncertainty and distress. “Poetry is giving some relief. It’s healing. When I see such response, I feel I’ve been able to discharge my responsibility as an artiste,” the actor said.
A screen grab of the Facebook post of Rudranil Ghosh reading 'Coronar Maa'
According to Joie Bose, founder of Poetry Paradigm, the organization had started the process of encouraging people to post their videos since March. “We kickstarted it with Ruskin Bond reading for us. Poetry-reading gives you solace and when you are making videos of yourself reading to connect with people, it breaks the sense of loneliness that lockdown brings. Hence, at Poetry Paradigm, we have encouraged people to post their videos on our page. We kickstarted it with Ruskin Bond reading for us. We have got more than 159 videos. To encourage people further, we are collaborating with Oxford Bookstore. Nine-year-old Devansh and Tiana will also be with me,” Bose said.
Joie Bose, the founder of Poetry Paradigm, says this reading breaks the sense of loneliness that lockdown brings
On his Facebook page, poet Prabal Kumar Basu has uploaded excerpts from his poetry-reading session and included those verses that are relevant now. “Poetry always strengthens one's inner soul. When people are in isolation and not able to see or meet their dear ones, they find respite in poetry or music. A poet reading his own poems carries an added advantage. People find their strength which heals the agony and stress during times of lockdown. That’s how a poet contributes to society,“ Basu said.
On his Facebook page, poet Prabal Kumar Basu has uploaded excerpts from his poetry-reading session
While amateurs are engaging in random readings, those like actor-director Aparna Sen have a purpose. In her first video, Sen said: “This morning, I thought I would read a poem borrowing a page from my friend Shabana Azmi’s book. I could read a Bengali poem or an English poem. Or I could read a translation of a Bengali poem because there are many poets in Bengal who deserve to be known all over the world.” So, one after the other, she recited Jibanananda Das’ ‘Loghu muhuurto’ and its English translation by her father Chidananda Dasgupta, along with the English translation of Das’ ‘Banalata Sen’, ‘In the likeness of the Sun’, ‘The Cat’ and ‘The Snake’. On other days, she read the originals and her own English translations of Shakti Chattopadhyay’s ‘Shey bawro shukher shomoy noy, shey bawro anonder shomoy noy’ and Joy Goswami’s ‘Greehobodhur Diary’. She also read out William Blake’s ‘The Lamb’ and ‘The Tyger’.
For director Ranjan Ghosh, this format is interesting since the poems reach those who do not speak Bangla. “Besides, her recitation is very modern and contemporary, and is capable of making the poems resonate within us. That is the hallmark of good recitation,” he said. Inspired by these sessions, Ghosh himself did a maiden poetry-reading session on Saturday evening. “I chose William Wordworth’s ‘I wondered lonely as a Cloud' and Tagore’s 'Praan'. The emotions these poems convey seemed very relevant in today's context,” he said.
A screen grab of the video that has Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee's reading of Purnendu Patri's tribute to Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali
On Thursday, which also happened to be the 118th birth anniversary of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, interdisciplinary artiste Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee read out a poem dedicated to the legend by Purnendu Patri. “Inspired by Kumar Mukherjee, a torchbearer of the Kasur Patiala Gharana, I thought of a humble tribute to this icon. Apart from others, this video was also shared by famous radio artiste Srabanti Mazumdar. She also narrated her own association with the legend,” Chatterjee said. This recitation was for a video shot by Arka Goswami and had rare black-and-white photos. In the audioscape, one can hear strains of the thumri ‘Ab toh jaane nahin doongi’ that’s punctuated by Chatterjee reciting ‘Fuler gondhe photaar jonne/Naarir sporsho pabaar jonne/Ghumer moddhe kandte kandte/Aamra jedin jubok holaam/Baaire tokhon bokkhe brikkhe, jole sthole ontoreekkhe/Aamader shei kanna niye gaan gaaiche Bade Golam…’
A screenshot of Ruskin Bond's video for Poetry Paradigm
But what will happen to this habit of reading poetry online once the quarantine period is over? Will poets and readers still have the time to go back to verse online? Or will the fast pace of life bring this exercise to a screeching halt? Ghosh wants to be optimistic. “The lockdown period has forced us to introspect and connect us with some habits that we had forgotten to indulge in. Despite all the gloom, that is a positive effect of this quarantine. I am hoping that this habit stays on,” said the actor.