A girl recites a poem at the meet. Picture by UB Photos

Feb. 6: It was the poets? day out today at Shahid Bhawan, the headquarters of the All Assam Students? Union.

The bards, numbering about 100, packed the venue and wove a spell of words at a multi-lingual poet meet hosted by Chirantan Sahityar Din.

The city-based literary organisation organised the poets? meet on the eve of Rohini Kumar Pathak Memorial Day. Pathak, a renowned poet, was the founder-president of the organisation. ?Our goal is to bring together talented and budding poets writing in various languages on one platform and create an environment conducive to exchange of ideas breaking through the language barrier,? said Surajit Baruah, working president of the organisation.

The multi-lingual poet meet focussed on the traditional and modern forms of poetry. As lectures, shayeris and rhyme rounds went ahead the hall reverberated with applause.

Language differences proved no barrier as the poets gave a quick summary of their creations. Nepali, Mising, Assamese, Bengali, Hindi or English, poet after poet demonstrated the power of words as audiences listened mesmerised. Nepali poets Nabo Sapkota, Munni Sapkota, Jayanta Sarma, Santosh Kumar Sarma and Niru Sarma, Mising poets Jiten Payeng and Gokul Payeng, Bodo bards Goyoksi Basumatary and Gonesh Boro ? they all found appreciation. Be it the Assamese works of Anupam Kumar, Raju Baruah, Samindra Hujuri, Naren Talukdar and Nilima Goswami Sarma, the Bengali ones by Abhideep Sarkar, Bikash Roy and Ranjit Choube, Sankar Lal Parik and Sarat B. Sukla?s Hindi poems, Mukul Hazarika?s Urdu shayars or Rajib Phukan?s English lyrics, the audience loved them all.

Two books of poetry, Mok Hatya Karilene by Sankar Saikia and Taimukuli Nohoy by Sabitri Saikia Baruah were released respectively by Nobokumar Chapokotai, a renowned Nepali poet and Firoza Begam, renowned dramatist of the region. Dawar Antora Nai, a collection of stories by Gonesh Pegu, was also released on the occasion. Jyotshna Ali, an advocate of Gauhati High Court, released Pegu?s book. Chirantan Sahityar Din also brought out an issue of their monthly poetry magazine, Uponibeshor Kabita at the poets? meet.