Poets, writers celebrate literary art at Navishta event in Shimla

Poets, writers, and thinkers from across India gathered to celebrate words, artistic expression and literature at Navishta, a poetry event held at the Gothic Hall of the historic Gaiety Theatre. The occasion also marked the second edition of the Ghazal collection ‘Abhi Ik She’r Kehna Reh Gaya Hai’, authored by renowned Himachal poet Vikas Rana, known as ‘Fikr’.

The programme began with a ceremony graced by Dr Meenakshi F Paul, principal and professor of English at the Department of Evening Studies, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. This was followed by sessions highlighting the richness of poetic thought and creative expression.

The first segment, ‘Sukhan-Fahmi’, focused on Urdu poetry appreciation, with Raman Sagwal leading the discussion. ‘Ham-Sukhan’ presented a She’ri Mehfil featuring poets Rashmi Sharma (Sadarat), Raman Sagwal (Nizamat), Kuldeep Garg ‘Tarun’, Gautam Sharma, Maheshwar Singh, Ram, Rajneesh Kumar, Sunny Kabir, Atul Anshumali and Chetan Verma.

A panel discussion titled ‘Ghaur-o-Fikr’ explored the intersections of language, cinema, and poetry. Participants included Anuja Rathore Sharma (retired associate professor), Dr Kamayani Vashisht (academician, poet and principal of Jawahar Lal Nehru College of Fine Arts, Shimla), Dr Dev Kanya Thakur (writer, filmmaker, broadcaster and PR professional), and Dr Ashima Dogra (moderator, Kathak dancer, educator and scientific content consultant).

This was followed by a conversation between Vikas Rana ‘Fikr’ and poet Rajnishwar Chauhan ‘Rajnish’, during which they discussed poetry, creativity, and the journey behind the book.

The evening concluded with a Mushaira titled ‘Sukhan-Saraai’, where poets Shamsher ‘Sahil’ (Nizamat), Vikas Rana ‘Fikr’, Tarkash Pradeep, Alok Mishra, Sumit ‘Raj’, Ramesh Dadhwal, Karan ‘Sahar’, Kushal Dauneria, Nand Kishore ‘Anhad’, Gaurav Saklani, Rohan Kaushik and Rajnishwar Chauhan ‘Rajnish’ recited their poetry. The vote of thanks was delivered by voice-over artist Mukesh Guru Azad, who also hosted the entire event.