Hyderabad: World Poetry Day, observed on March 21 every year across the globe, is an occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.
History
UNESCO first adopted March 21 as World Poetry Day during its 30th General Conference in Paris in 1999, with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.
Theme 2024
World Poetry Day 2024 Theme: 'Standing on the Shoulders of Giants' is the celebratory theme for World Poetry Day 2024, marked annually on March 21. The theme nods to iconic writers of the past whose trailblazing works enlarged poetry’s footprint across cultures. It simultaneously spotlights the young poets building freshly on that foundation today.
Poetry in India
Indian poetry and Indian literature in general, has a long history dating back to the Vedic times. They were written in various Indian languages like Vedic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit, Ancient Meitei, Modern Meitei, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Maithili, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese, Urdu, and Hindi.
Still poetry holds a significant position in the Indian literature. Current famous poets like Kumar Vishwas, Shailesh Lodha, Dr Hari Om Pawar, Javed Akhtar, Manoj Muntashir Shukla still rule the hearts of Indians. Not to forget, legends including Late Gulzar, Munawar Rana, Rahat Indori, Gieve Patel have also worked hard in carrying the legacy of poetry in Hindu and Urdu language.
Interesting Facts about Poetry
- The word "poetry" comes from the Greek term poiesis, which means "making."
- Poetry is one of the oldest forms of communication, dating back to prehistoric times with hunting poetry in Africa and ancient Egypt.
- The oldest surviving epic poem is the Epic of Gilgamesh and dates from the 3rd millennium BC in Sumer (now Iraq).
- The longest poem in the world is the Mahabharata. An Indian epic poem dating from the 4th century BC or earlier, the poem has about 1.8 million words.
- Valmiki was the composer of the first Sanskrit poem known the world over as the epic Ramayana. Hence, he is called the Adikavi or First Poet of India.
