The writing out last session started with a complete review of all the previous work done and the participants were asked to come up with any problems or clarifications they might have from the previous sessions.
After this Nargis and I distributed new notebooks to all the participants and they were asked to use this as a fair copy to write down all their poems they have written so far and also add any new ones they might write within this period. These poems were to be collected a month later and archived at the Kalam office and one poem from each of the participant was to be used in publishing a journal of their poems.
The participants were at this point grouped into pairs and then asked to write a poem about their partners describing him or her using the five senses as learnt in the previous sessions of Writing out.
The result was an eclectic mix. We saw participants like Bharati describing Ruksana as her long lost childhood friend whose touch was like that of the new born baby and smelt like the fresh dew of the morning. Others like Basudeb took a more hilarious approach describing Mehmood as a “Juhi flower” and smelling like freshly made kachoris (anyone who knows Mehmood would understand the hilarity of the description) ofcourse in my opinion I would say Chandni took the cake when she was paired with me and decided to describe me as a football player with eyes like those of a cat!
The poems were all discussed and then Nargis and I made some suggestions and asked them to make changes wherever necessary or to just add some more details. The participants at the end of the session said that it had been a rewarding experience as they had always felt writing poetry was meant for the “others” but now they were confident that even they could write a nice poem.
We ended the session urging them to continue writing and to complete the new notebook and contact us as soon as possible so that we could start the process of organizing a community program and getting the journal published. All in all the program ended with quite a success with many of them acquiring the interest towards writing and in the honing of their analytical and observation skills.
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2 comments:
well, the last workshop in a series is always a bit emotional. and i like the way you guys ended the session. the poem describing each other is fun on the face, but i think its implications run very deep. to be able to think of another person in terms of senses is a huge leap. it really sexualizes a seemingly asexual friendship/acquaintance/relationship. and in that way, it is the first step for young people to write honestly and intimately about other people. it is a very important step indeed.
overall, it is good to know that you think the workshops have made a difference.
and i, on part of choice, is really happy to see you feeling so involved with your work at kalam.
thanks for everything.
best,
b.
hi rohit --
thanks for your lovely post on your last session with writing out. we're all thrilled to have you with us at kalam!
best
sahar
(in seattle)
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