Arts & Culture

Poet Akhil Katyal’s Discusses Poetry and Delhi at Gargi College

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Dr. Akhil Katyal graced the Department of English of Gargi College afternoon for a workshop on ‘Poetry on Delhi’ on Monday afternoon. Dr. Katyal is an assistant professor of English Literature and Creative Writing at Ambedkar University, Delhi. He was warmly welcomed by the students and teachers of the department and expressed his pleasure at being back in the college.

He began his workshop by quoting Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq on his love of Delhi. He also read out excerpts from Ishq Mai Seher Hona, a book of poetry written by the eminent journalist, Ravish Kumar. The poems spoke of the insecurity of love by comparing the relationship to areas of Delhi. Dr. Katyal asked if the students could connect to the verses and they narrated their incidents of similar feelings and situations. He explained to the audience how similes and metaphors work in the art of poetry.

He said that the ‘Toolbox of Poetry’ consists of the tool of language, sound, and visual. The poet can use these components attract the attention of the reader. Dr. Katyal also taught students the art of enjambment on the paragraph. He also discussed A Butcher written by Agha Shahid Ali, a Kashmiri-American poet. Dr. Katyal discussed each student’s point of view in changing the prose paragraph to poetry and later revealed how the poet himself had done it. He asserted the importance of location, softness, action, speed, etc. He also underlined the subconscious forces at play based on Rebecca Hazelton’s essay, Learning the Poetic Line.

For the last session of his workshop, he showed the map of Delhi and asked the audience to mark the areas of the city according to certain questions. He commented how the answers reflected theoretical studies by Shilpa Phadke in Why Loiter? Women and Risk on Mumbai Streets. This explanation and left the audience in awe. Students shared their poems on Delhi and got pictures clicked with the eminent professor, poet, and author.

Feature Image Credits: Pavini Suri
Prachi Mehra 
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