POETS ON AIR by Bhubaneswar Poetry Club

Thank you devoted lovers of poetry and all those who have supported and appreciated the earnest endeavors of BPC for the more than half a decade. A big thank you to all those from the community who voluntarily contributed their valuable time in making the podcast successful. A nice hearty hug to all our interns for taking time and proactively working upon the curation and timely execution of the memorable episodes. Exeunt Poets On Air season 2 … making way for the next season, where we hope to present a delectable collection of poetry, poets, and soothing recitations. Poetry brings together joyous hearts, and that is simply magical! Before we leave here is a remarkable poem for you by the eminent billingual poet, writer, and educator Saubhāgya Kumāra Miśra from his collection 'Andha Mahumaachhee' published in 1977 that took the Odia poetry scene by storm and continues to inspire poets and enthusiasts alike. He has been conferred the State and Central Sahitya Akademi Awards for his outstanding contribution to poetry. Stay tuned for more updates from BPC. Love and Light✨💚

Pre-independent Indian English poetry had many stalwarts starting with Henry Vivian Derozio and followed by Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, Sri Aurobindo till the advent of Nissim Ezekiel. Still far and between many poets contributed their lot in the indolent course of Indian English poetry until it reached its full flowering with poets post-independence. In 1919, Arthur H. Stockwell published an anthology of roughly thirty poems called 'Spring Blossoms'. The poet was Ardeshir M Modi. He was the contemporary of eminent poets of the pre-independent era, yet many call him a lost poet, lost in the pages of time. But the power of poetry and his poem 'That Too Shall Pass Away' continues to pique the interest and make poetry enthusiasts ponder. Are poems truly lost? Are poets easily forgotten? Yes. No. Maybe both! May be neither ... but even that too shall pass away! Listen to Laxmipriya Jena recite this poem by Ardeshir M Modi. Love & Light✨

Gratitude for things that go well is good. But ought to be greater for things that don't go too good, as well! Amidst the ocean if things that hit at us, the need to acknowledge them and learn from them - this defines the human existence. Listen to the poem Thank You by Danny Moore in the voice of Kashmira Murmu. Love & Light💚✨

Agnivesh Mahapatra is a well known and noted young poet in English, Hindi and Odia. He brings with him the flavor of sharpness of words, the finesse of technique and the sensibility of a poet who doesn't identify only as a poet, rather a connoisseur of human conundrums. Deeply passionate about nature, this poem on the mammoth forest of Saranda, is a classic masterpiece by a poet who is just touching the toes of thirty. Savour his passion and unique style from this recitation on the euphonious and rich voice of the doctor and poet who goes by the name Sarfira. Love & Light✨💚

Amrita Pritam. The name evokes many more names that familiar people ascribed to her in her lifetime – questioner of norms, rebel, critical thinker, a devil’s advocate of sorts. A fiery individual and poet, she survived being uprooted from her land of birth, surviving the watershed moments of partition and unrequited love. She sets example as an individual who dared to tell the truth to undoubtedly live. And what an exemplary life she did live. A personification of the world revolution itself! 'Main Tenu Phir Milaangi' is one of her last love poems and was dedicated to her dear companion Imroz. It convincingly shows Amrita Pritam’s humanistic perspective on life, compelling vision, love, and the tremendous hope that urges the complex world at large. Listen to the mellifluous voice of Subhashree Mohapatra, poet and Hindustani poetry enthusiast as she recites this poem. Love & Light✨💚

Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, popularly known as Pablo Neruda continues to grip the souls of imagination, of Romantic fatalists all over the world. Very few people have lived such an eventful life and have scripted poems which are equally momentous. The frank and sensual spokesman for love in Neruda weaves his extensive travels into metaphors that are inimitable and mysterious, at the same time. Listen to this recitation of 'You Start Dying Slowly' by poet and spoken word poetry powerhouse, Sourav Panda, in his enigmatic and matchless style.

Jagannath Prasad Das, or popularly known as JP Das, has had a literary career spanning forty years replete with poetry, plays, short stories as well as research volumes on visual arts of Odisha. JP Das' poetry is innovative as well as a blend of beauty with precise sophistication. For all that poet has wanted to say, more or less, he has through his poetry. Listen to this recitation of JP Das' poem 'Kabacha' by Piyush Pratik, an avid reader of his poetry. Love & Light✨

Avtar Singh Sandhu "Pash" was a 20th century Indian poet known for his influential and progressive poems who shared the same stature as Bertolt Brecht, Mahmoud Darwish and Faiz Ahmed Faiz for his political overtures in poetry. Like Neruda, he published his first collection when he was only 20 years old. He has often been described as the romantic poet who chose revolution over anything else. Pash's literary career spanned less than two decades, yet the interest in his poems has never waned. In one way or the other, any poetry enthusiast is sure to come upon his poems, now or later. His poetry continues to outlive him. Listen to a powerful recitation of his poem 'Sabse Khatarnak' by Ankush Mehta. Love & Light✨

Wystan Hugh Auden believed that poetry had the power to persuade and oughtn't be misused. Often controversial, greatly influential WH Auden had to bear the brunt of comparison with WB Yeats and TS Eliot. However, many also considered him to be one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century. The corpus of Auden's poetry is encyclopedic and comprises from obscure or lesser known forms to intricately crafted book length long verse. The subject traverses all things under the sun and the whole range of emotions each man goes through or rather Auden himself went through. From dust kernels to stardust, one can find a poem for everything in between. Listen to Karishma Maharana's homage to WH Auden through a recitation of " The Unknown Citizen". Love & Light. ✨

The banyan tree is an integral part of every rural culture and is linked to many stories both spoken and unspoken. Padmashri Haladhar Nag's poems often speak up about nature as well as social issues faced by the common man. Listen to a soothing recitation of his poem Dhoddo Bargach by Bibaswan Maharana. Love & Light✨

Quality over quantity, this adage finds its finest expression in Dushyant Kumar who is the first ghazal writer in Hindi. In his short span of life of 42 years, he made valuable contributions to Hindi and Urdu literature. His poems and excerpts have been sung by people from all quarters and all corners of the land. Every poet speaks through his poems, but sometimes the poems become an unbridled force unto themselves, and the poet simply smiles standing behind the curtain. Listen to Kasturika Mishra reciting 'Mai Jise Odhta Bichata Hun' by Dushyant Kumar. Love & Light. ✨

Hailed as a literary genius in the scene of odia literature, the legends of Guruprasad Mohanty traverses strata of social and temporal boundaries, establishing him as one of the pioneers and the finest exponents of experimental poetry. Honesty, jurisprudence and principle is infused in each layer of his poetry much like the kind of person he was! Very few people, forget poets, are able to convert moral pressure and challenge into inspiration and in turn translate that gist into serious poetry. Real modernity in Odia poetry came forth spreading its plume of colours and complexity came forth with Guruprasad Mohanty’s poetry. Listen to Piyush Pratik Sahoo, medico in making and poetry enthusiast’s recitation of his poem. Love & Light ✨

John Greenleaf Whittier was a highly revered 19th century American poet famous for his works on abolition of slavery. Often considered as an influential fireside poet, read in all households of his time, Whittier played a pivotal role in rise of American literary regionalism and was strongly supportive of women poets like Sarah Jewett and Celia Thaxter. Listen to Krishna Gochayat's recitation of his poem Don't Quit. Love & Light✨

Koyamparambath Satchidanandan is one of the pioneers of modern Indian poetry and specifically Malayalam poetry. He has contributed greatly in pivotal roles of a bilingual literary critic as a translator by translating many modern poets like Cesar Vallejo, Ferdinand Garcia Lorca, Mahmoud Darwish, Atilla Jozsef and others into Malayalam, as an editor of Indian Literature (the journal of Sahitya Akademi), as a playwright. His poems erupt with quirkiness engendered in our everyday lives as well as social commentary and satire, which provides an enjoyable and unique perspective. In this episode let us listen to a famous poem of his called Kozhi-Panka written in 1972 and which continues to strike and stimulate contemporary minds. Hear Dr. AC Raghu's un-inimitable recitation of the poem. Love & Light✨

Santha Kabi Bhima Bhoi is well known throughout the land for his works replete with tenets of Mahima philosophy as well as deep incisive analysis of life itself. Even to this day his songs (janānas and bhajans) are sung by the Kumbhipatias, common folk as well as pursued with great interest by literary and culture enthusiasts. In this episode, Dr. Santosh Biswal lends his voice to one of his famous poems "Mo Jibana Pachey Narke Padi Thau." Love & Light✨

Padma Bhusan Ramkumar Verma, was a poet and playwright of the Chayavad movement in Hindi poetry and thematically ascribed to historical contexts, weaving them into his poems. In this poem he exalts the farmers and compares them to presiding deities of all things agrarian- village, soil and produce. It endorses the symbiosis agrarian culture with all other stratifications that pervades our lives. Listen to this poem in the voice of Praneet Nandan. Love & Light ✨

Is life a dream? Are our lives mere dreams playing out in another larger dream? Why do things just slip from our hands? Why do memories and events swim past us in the flick of a moment? Are moments fragile and flitting? Or do they linger? Where do they linger, in our dreams or a dream within a dream? This poem by Edgar Allan Poe echoes many questions like above that tread in the waters of our subconscious mind. Listen to the poem in the mellifluous voice of Madhupriya. Love & Light ✨

What human existence is bereft of whims and fancies, desires or questions? Today's poem echoes some serious thoughts about the same. Subhransu Panda is a well known journalist, a novelist, and a poet in Contemporary Odia literature. From his poems emanate a unique and beautifully singular fragrance, that fundamentally permeates all our whims, fancies, desires, and our existence as human beings. Listen to this recitation, in the soothing voice of Anwesha Tripathy. Love & Light✨

Introducing you this time with the tremdous world of "Nazm" in Gaurav Sinha's powerful voice. Firstly, Hafeez Jalandhari's "Abhi toh mai jawan hun," with the true spirits of youth. And Ibn-e-Inshah's "Ek baar kaho tum meri ho" as an ode to the love of your life. Asha karte hai ye mehfil apko jarur bhayegi. Love & Light ✨

American poet and social worker, Pat A Fleming lingers on the edges of the subtle dimensions, inter-relations and existing conundrums of human lives, through her poetry. She is unabashed and unapologetic yet, her words never cease to inspire and prod one's conscience. A little bundle of inspiration from her in the voice of the perky Sanjeevani Mishra.

Subramaniam Bharathiar in his brief life span of 39 years paved way for not only Modern Tamil Literature but opened up vistas in the context of Indian Poetry too. The "Kavignar" was a multidisciplinary mind who went beyond the mores of just being a poet, and his words full of wisdom and foresight set new premises for generations to think and ponder upon. In today's episode, Dr. AC Raghu reads one of Bharathiar's famous poems "Achamillai Achamillai" which speaks about and for a mind that is bereft of fear in all forms and from all quarters.

Presenting before you the authentic romantic verse penned down by Sacchidananda Routray's, "Aneka Pruthibi Khoje" in Anwesha Tripathy's voice. From the essence of first love to celebrating it for life time, we hope you will relive the charismatic feeling through the words. Love & Light✨

Presenting to you the nazm, Raqeeb Se by Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Abhinav Bhaskar's voice. This one-of-its-kind poem is addressed by a man to another, who shared his affections for the same woman. It is not always that we get to confront the people who share our experiences but when we do the conversations become an appreciation of the same. Let's hear what our poet has to say about his experience! Love & Light ✨

In this episode of Poets On Air, we have Arundhathi Subramaniam's poem 'Prayer' in Padma Parija's voice. As the poem states 'May nothing be disturbed in the simplest place you know' it urges the literary depth of mortal and immortal phenomenons. A life with simplicity of thought, behaviour and actions. Love & Light! ✨

In this brand new episode we bring forth a authentic poem by Pandit Nilakantha Das Ramachandi re Sakhala in the voice of Dr. SantoshBiswal. This literary masterpiece creates a secondary or alternative world with an underlying anti-imperialistic agenda. We hope it provides a refreshing experience to you and that the experience adds a newer paradigm in your thought process and lends a fascinating perspective into the works of Pandita Nilakantha Das, one of the greatest minds and sons of Odisha. Let us ponder!

Presenting before you Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji's classic poem of pateince and inspiration namely, 'Maut Se Than Gayi'. This masterpiece was penned down by Atal Ji in 1998 as a letter to famous journalist Dharamvir Bharti about his encounter with death. Wishing you positive vibes to face the circumstances with courage. Chin up, Darlings!

Presenting to you Love by Khalil Gibran in Adyasha Mishra's voice. This excerpt has been taken from The Prophet, which provides a timeless spiritual wisdom on a range of subjects, including love, giving, freedom, reason and passion, and many more. As Gibran writes rightly, "Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself." We hope that you have the courage to be true in what you love and believe in. Love & Light!

The One where we make a come back with lots of love and positivity. With the goal to make your day just a little better and your night, peaceful. Here we extend our gratitude to your love and support with the pilot episode of Season 2. Reading a poem by the Nobel Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Louise Glück, The Myth of Innocence. While the poem uses the life of Persephone as a metaphor to hopelessness and suffocation, it also shows the concrete willpower she possesses even after being beaten by life. We hope you find that silver lining in times of despair, that that light at the end of the tunnel brings you relief. Love & Light!

As said by Frank Herbert, "There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story." We bring to you the conclusive episode of Poets on Air Season 1 with the beautiful poem "Aprapta" by the famous Odia Poet, Thinker, and Polymath - Shri Haraprasad Das, from his poetry collection "Mantrapaatha". We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed this series of poems and that it was able to brighten up some of your gloomy days. We will be back soon with another season. For the next season, we are inviting passionate poets like you to send in your original poems in English, Hindi, or Odia. You can send in your poems or recordings at bhubaneswarpoetryclub@gmail.com Stay tuned! Love and Light, Team BPC🌻

Presenting before you Hazrat Amir Khusru's most famous kalam "Chaap Tilak Sab Cheeni". This Awadhi Ghazal is basically a praise to his spiritual mentor, Hazir Nizamuddin Awliyah. A big thank you to Anmayee Pattnaik for the enchanting performance of the piece.

Today we are presenting one of Pablo Neruda's finest collections i.E "If you forget me". The aura of the poem is enough to fascinate your undivided feelings for someone with a tinge of life and spiritual segments.

In this episode we bring forth a beautiful piece from the pen of Padma Bhushan, Sri Ramakanta Rath, the famous modernist poet from Odisha. Savour an excerpt from his epic masterpiece "Sri Radha" which enjoys a cult like status all over the land.

In today's episode we bring to you a poignant poem by Pranaya Sudha,  a prolific and well known young writer in Odia Poetry scene. Get a taste of his magical flow from his poem "Pakhaala Kansa".

Today's episode brings to you Mary Jo Bang's "You Were You Are Elegy". Composed in a period after losing her son, the poem reflects at the outset on the impermanence of life and one's acceptance on descovering solace in it.

In this episode we present to you Edgar Albert Guest's "See It Through". A lyrical poem that talks about facing obstacles with a positive attitude.

Episode 19 of Poets on Air is an awakening poem by Harivansh Rai Bachchan - " तुम मुझको कब तक रोकोगे? "

Presenting to you another mesmerizing Odia poem "ଛୋଟ ମୋର ଗାଁ ଟି" by the much celebrated Odia poet Sachidananda Routray.

We bring you Episode 17 of Poets on Air, Ek Mulaqat by Amrita Pritam

Introducing you to "A psalm of life" by HW longfellow, in this episode.

Introducing you to the enriching world of Odia literature with this beautiful poem, "ସିଢି" by Odia Poetess Binapani Panda.

Presenting to you the next episode of our podcast series, Poets on Air. Listen to "Lessons in Stillness" by Tishani Doshi, a dedication by our listener 'Solitude' to her friend 'Silence'. Love and Light

Episode 13 is a special request by one of our listeners, Mary Jane who dedicates "Relax" by Ellen Bass, to all those who are struggling with their mental health in these tough times. We hope this episode helps you relax.

Presenting to you, Episode 12 of Poets on Air. We have taken up a special dedication from our listeners Alpha & Beta. The poem is Numbers, by Mary Cornish. love & light

In this episode, we take up Mrs.Monica Gellar's request. A poem that she dedicates to her husband Mr Chandler Bing. Presenting to you - New Delhi Love Song by Michael Creighton. Enjoy!

Prof. Ashutosh Kar weaves his magic in this poem. Plugin your earphones and enjoy EPISODE 10 of Poets on Air - I Wish You Stayed at Home a Little More Love and Light!

Episode 9 is from your recommendations! Enjoy this poem by Charles Dickens - Things that never die. Love and Light

From your recommendations! Presenting to you EPISODE 8 of Poets On Air - How do I love thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning Love and Light

Thode gham bulaake, thode muskurahaatein khilaake, zindagi 'Gulzar' kar lein? Presenting to you, Episode 7 of our podcast series, Poets On Air

Poets On Air, Episode 6. On today's episode, we read out for you Resignation by Nikki Giovanni. Love and Light

What's Sunday without poetry? We present to you Episode 5 of Poets on Air; a poem by Mary Oliver - STORAGE Enjoy! Love and Light.

Come, drown in the melodious experience of poetry, and love, with this beautiful piece, in the 4th episode of Poets On Air. Pesh hai, aapke liye, Gulzar ji kaa, Pyaar woh beej hai.

Presenting to you, the first episode of Poets-on-Air, where we read Joy Harjo's Grace for you. Sit back, relax and enjoy. We hope this helps you hope, and heal. Let us know how liked it, and how you think we can improve. Your suggestions are welcome. Love and light, Team BPC

Presenting to you episode 3 of Poets on Air. A poem by Theodore Roethke - THE WAKING; much relatable to the times we are going through. Plugin your earphones and relax . Love and Light

Presenting to you, the second episode of Poets on Air, where we hope to greet you with words of wonder, and read out to you: Invictus by William Ernest Henley.

Dear People! We are delighted to present to you, the teaser for Poets-on-Air, our Podcast series. This is a small overview of what you can expect from our podcasts in the days to come. The first episode will go live in the evening, today. Stay tuned. Love and light, Team BPC

Bhubaneswar Poetry Club hosted another vertical on 22nd September'19 called "Poets on Air" where poets talk to you and dedicate a poem that would best suit your mood. We bring you the first ever episode of "Poets on Air" . Sit back, relax, plug in your headphones and Enjoy . Cheers to Poetry! Love and light, Team BPC. PS: There could be a few mistakes here and there. The style and way of reading poetry might not be the only or the best way. We promise we are taking our lessons from the first episode and we will improve ourselves with each edition.