'Kohra Ghana Hai': Poetic take on mob lynching, Kashmir et al

Naveen Chourey attempts to reach out to the masses, tap into their compassion and empathy, and bring about a meaningful transformation with his collection of poems which deals with topics like mob lynching, Kashmir and the plight of soldiers among others.

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The poems in "Kohra Ghana Hai: Nothing Personal" are a take on nationalism, patriotism and the state of our country. "Every time a language is born, poetry follows in its wake. Mass movements and social change have never been devoid of poetry - irrespective of countries, eras and religions," says Chourey, an IIT graduate who likes to be described as a writer while performing and an actor while sitting with pen and paper.

"Poetry has always been the bedrock of the social conscience of the human race. Experimenting with poetry, I came to realise that poetry is an extremely powerful and unique medium in reaching out to the common man and unite people," he says.

One of the poems in the collection, brought out by Penguin, is 'Pinjra' which is being recited by anti-citizenship law protesters during demonstrations. With anger as its core emotion and an interrogative form, the poem, which is a take on Kashmir, raises several questions on how long people can live under restrictions.

Another poem of his, 'Vaastavik Kanoon' talks about mob lynching, while 'Main Sarhad Pe Khada Hoon' is about the plight of soldiers posted at the borders. "Kohra Ghana Hai" is a flip book published in Devanagri and Roman script.

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