" Gaon Ko Katha" - audio-visual poem by Nima Sherpa released

He always knew he had the poet’s streak in him, but circumstances had driven him to showcase his talent on a different platform. However, his dream has now come true as youth poet Nima Sherpa on Monday released his ‘Gaon Ko Katha’, an audio-visual poem.
The idea to “create” poetry is an innovative one for the hills, one that could perhaps carve the way for others to follow suit. But Nima’s achievement, gained through hard work and dedication, is not without its critics, with the principal one being none other than his father who labours in his field from dawn to dusk.
“We used to shoot for the ‘poetry’ even late at night in order to perfectly blend my poem with the visual presentation, which annoyed my father. He even called me mad,” Nima told the audience comprising poets, writers, journalists and students.
‘Gaon Ko Katha’ was presented by the Darjeeling Press Guild in collaboration with the Mass Communication and Journalism Department of St Joseph’s College, Darjeeling.
Nima is a lecturer at the Ghoom-Jorebungalow Degree College and writing poetry in innovative ways is a ‘mantra’ he wants budding talents to inculcate.
“I interacted with several poets in Nepal and came to know that only a few of them had ever tried writing poetry using audio and still pictures. That was when it struck me to do something different, and the idea of a visual format was born,” he said, while giving credit to the music arranger and his cameraman friends, who had toiled even harder to create the ‘piece’ Nima had envisaged.
“Initially I was skeptical about how the work would come out. I was not sure about how synchronising the music and visuals of the village with my words would go. But all credit to the music arranger and cameramen for the end-product,” said an elated Nima, who shot all the visuals at his native Rampuria village in Takdah.
The poet also unveiled a short selection of poems from his ‘Kurup Phool Ko Gandh’, which was released in Nepal a week ago and will soon be available in the Darjeeling hills.
The audience was also treated to a 40-minute documentary titled ‘Paper Boat’ created by the students of the mass communication department. This was followed by poetry recitals by five poets invited especially for the programme. (EOIC)