“Kuch Khayaal Kar Baithe Humse Sawaal,
Socha Na Tha,
Khayaalon Ne Kaha Ki Jo Ho Raha Hai,
Khayaalon Mein Kabhi Hota Na Tha”

With these beautiful lines from his series of poetry KHAYAAL (i.e. thoughts), Himanshu Arora talks about relations, life and perspectives.

Rishtey, Wajood and Waqt are the three gems in his string of Khayaal. In “Rishtey”, Himahshu highlights the various complex facets of a relationship. Beginning with the thought that “Rishton ki zindagi me ek alag hi ahmiyat hai”, he expresses the importance of relationships in our lives. At the same time, he also shows the other face of relations painted with misunderstandings, heartbreaks and deception. He weaves the many subtle nuances of our relationships in a thread of words, creating beautiful shayari. In “Wajood”, he talks about the eminence of self-realization and appreciation of your own existence and essence of life in that context, while in “Waqt” talks about the eminence of time in life. The poetry motivates people in general to understand the essence of life, living in the present and staying positive and optimistic.

Himanshu is a practising Advocate at Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh and a faculty of Polity and Constitution of India for civil services aspirants. But, his knack for poetry makes him a poet by heart. He wishes to bring about a social change by the power of his words. He is well known for his stand-up comedy on “UPSC ki Taiyaari”. Some of his best works are on topics like Swachchta Abhiyaan, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, etc. which can easily be found on his Youtube channel “AroraJi Official”.

Come let us dive in the lanes of thoughtful poetry.

The age-old tradition of Bidai or bride bidding farewell to her family after marriage is an integral part of our culture. But do we wonder what would happen if there is a twist in this tradition? Rakesh Tiwari’s “Dulhe Ki Bidai” is a hilarious take on such hypothetical swap of traditions.

A different form of Vidaai where the groom, instead of the bride leaves his family after marriage is a fun ride of possibilities, imagination, laughter and entertainment. Rakesh is a poet, storyteller, author, TEDx speaker and a BPO professional. He draws experiences from life and weaves them with emotion into beautiful, heartfelt poetry. With over four million views on his stories and poems across channels, now he has come up with his own channel “Rhyming Rakesh Tiwari” and this is his very first performance on his channel.

So come let’s go to the mandap to witness a twist in our traditions through a very comical performance.

Poets are rebels who use their words wisely to change the world bit by bit. Poetry is a powerful tool that is used to spread the message in the most melodious manner. It can be used as a great agent for social change. Poets like Navaldeep Singh uses it as a medium to start conversations on important social matters.

Navaldeep Singh speaks about the current topic of violence against doctors in his latest poetic performance “Safed Coat Wala”. It is an ode to the doctors who are the savior of lives. He portrays the grim reality in our country, where almost 75% of our doctors have faced some form of violence during their practice.

Navaldeep raises his voice against the same through his poem “Safed Coat Wala”.

Majority of the present-day education system is in a feeble condition. Right from detention policy to strict punishment policies, many aspects of this chapter of the economy needs revision.

“Education Ek Dhokha Hai” is a satire about the same. It presents “the plight of children in the conventional education system.” Necessitating urgent need for a major shift in the system, the poem proposes how education should evolve in the future.

Written and performed by Queeny Vithalani, the video is shot and directed by Navaldeep Singh.

One of the greatest poets of English literature, PB Shelly once said that “Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.” That is the true beauty of poetry, which lies in its ability to beautifully wrap the most ordinary moments of life in a string of words. Weaving that elegant world with her artistic words is Vinati Bhola.

An internationally published poet, Vinati was born and brought up in Delhi, with the majority of her teenage years spent in Kanpur. After completing her schooling from DPS Greater Noida, she pursued law. Currently, she is working as a full-time corporate lawyer with a law firm.

Her tryst with writing began at the onset of teenage when her family was shifting from Kanpur to Delhi. Changing worlds seemed a big deal back then and to cope up with the changes she turned to writing. Over the years, she continued writing poetry as her hobby. But, eventually, it turned out into something more magical. When she decided to organize her thoughts into a book and was working on the manuscript she got a lifetime opportunity as an invitation to represent Indian poets at a campaign ‘Dear India’ organised by Level Shoes in Dubai. Willing to launch her book at the event, she “rolled up her sleeves and burnt the midnight oil” to complete her book on time. And she did it! The launch of ‘Udaari’ was successful as it received an overwhelming response globally.

Through her poetry, she explores the theme of self-love. In the moments of life when we feel crushed and broken and when nothing seems to work for us, it is those moments that Vinati paints with optimism and hope through her brilliant words.

Her belief that “when we put our heart and soul into something we really want, we don’t hesitate to undertake the journey, however daunting it may be”, is the crux of all achievements in life. While epitomizing the never give up attitude, she states that “Pursuing your passion may not come easy, it may not be a cakewalk but believe me when I tell you that it’s a struggle everywhere. You just have to choose which struggle is worth taking, which struggle will bring you closer to your dreams.”

Conclusively, she leaves her readers with a verse from one of her favourite poems.
“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.” – A snippet from Mary Oliver’s poem Wild Geese

Here is a sneak peek into her magical world of words.