Poetry reading at AAT

CHENNAI: To some of us, happiness might mean money or fame and to a few others, power or a fancy new gadget. But to Dhaatri Menon, who read out her poem ‘Happiness’, at the confluence of poets from the city recently at the AAT Media College, Haddows Road, it meant the smell of freshly bakes cookies. Moreover, she said it  felt like a butterfly sitting on your nose, tasted like honey and looked like a dew drop falling on an orchid. The lanky 12-year-old went on to read with the confidence of a famous poet, “Happiness is something everyone needs, each one finds it in a different way.” The session was put together by the management and digital media students of the college, supported by GM Sajani, a consultant with AAT, as a part of a world-wide programme that will be documented to be archived at Stanford University under its LOCKSS programme. The programme will also have content generated from over 650 events in 450 cities across 90 odd countries. In a corner setting that gave one the feeling of being in an underground grunge sports bar,  the event was filmed and audio recorded for broadcast online. Sajani’s rhythm ‘Clichés in Jargon’ and another poet’s ‘The Philosophy of Wrong’ were standout performances. Dhaatri’s mother Geetanjali Rajan,  read out her poem ‘Sea Breeze’. After the poets, guitarists Sammaan Kumar and Roshan Singh took over, having a fun jam session. The energy they created in the room soon made the volunteers from AAT  to join in, with Sijo’s impromptu performance of ‘Iruvizhi’ from Minnale, along with a friend. The organisers are looking to conduct such open mic evenings each month and invite young writers, poets, lyricists and artistes to share their works.