Vasundhara Ni Vani – Natives of Gujarat Will Recite Poetry for Urban Ahmedabad

In this unique project, poems of famous Gujarati writers will be recited by performers from the villages of Gujarat. The project has travelled to over 15 cities of Gujarat till now. 

February 24 will be marked as a date to remember by the culture connoisseurs of the Heritage City of Ahmedabad. It is on this day that the poetry of Gujarat will flourish in a special way. Veteran Gujarati wordsmith Dhruv Bhatt, along with Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, has initiated a one-of-a-kind poetry recital series called ‘Vasundhara Ni Vani’ at the Gujarat Vidyapith. Literature enthusiasts from rural and indigenous sections of the society, who pursue poetry passionately but not professionally, will be narrating devotional poems written by the stalwart poets of Gujarat.

Bhatt shared with us how this idea came to be, “A few years back when writers had started returning their awards; I started an initiative called Kabir Yatra. Native people sang the poetry of Kabir to urbanised audiences, intimately drawing them towards the art of literature. From this, the idea of Vasundhara Ni Vani evolved. I decided to create a platform where the poems of famous writers of Gujarat can flourish.”

The project has travelled to over 15 cities of Gujarat till now. In Ahmedabad, more than 11 performers from the catchment of Mahisagar  and Narmada rivers will be joining to narrate devotional and spiritual melodies written by medieval greats like Dheera Bhagat, Mekan Dada,  and various others. Popular folk lores like that of Jesal-Toral will find a voice through this recital. The unique literature programme will even travel to Dharampur, where Bhatt is based, in the coming weeks.

The organisers are open to invitations from enthusiastic people who want to bring these artists to their city to perform.

Know more about the event here