On May 14 evening, at Lamakaan in Hyderabad, Telugu poet Siddhartha will present a recitation of his poems. The event, titled Raatrulu Modalayye Vela (The hour at which the nights begin…), is designed to be a performative rendition, with audio and multimedia projection. Hosted by Maruvam, a platform that promotes conversations and performances in Telugu, this is the third in a series of sessions under the initiative Dhwani.
Sumanaspati, a former producer-broadcaster for All India Radio, who mooted the Maruvam platform and the Dhwani series with like-minded associates, says this is an effort to make Telugu literature more interesting and engaging to people.
“On digital media, a few creators read Telugu short stories juxtaposed with visuals, sometimes generated with the help of AI. While that idea is interesting, I think the standard of Telugu articulation has fallen deeply. We want to host sessions where the articulation has flourish and clarity.”
Having worked in the radio where reading, as a performative art, thrived in the past, he floated the idea of a recitation series on stage, where a writer or a poet recite their writings in a performative style, with the help of audio recordings and visual footage as a form of storytelling.
Telugu poet Siddhartha; Sumanaspati | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The inspiration for the Dhwani series came from Dastangoi, the Urdu storytelling tradition in which a narrator brings a story to life with dramatic rendition. Sumanaspati points to similar storytelling traditions in Europe where performative narrations are accompanied by a piano or violin recital. He founded Maruvam a few years ago but admits that the forum has not been too active.
On reviving Maruvam recently, he and his team hosted the first two sessions of Dhwani as an experiment to test the waters. The first session featured Seetaram and the second Bammidi Jagadeeswara Rao. “The plan is to host two sessions a month, one focusing on poetry and the other highlighting literary texts,” adds Sumanaspati.
He explains that the use of multimedia — visuals, music and soundscape — will serve to signify the essence of the literary work and complement the storytelling. The format is also flexible. “Some writers are adept at renditions, while others require the help of another orator. We are open to both options.”
The session with poet Siddhartha this week will use visuals and folk music in sync with his poetry rooted in the rural and folk culture of Telangana, as well as the metropolitan urban reality of Hyderabad.
(Dhwani’s session featuring Telugu poet Siddhartha will be held at Lamakaan, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, on May 14; 7pm)