Verse of Myself: Journeying on
Veeksha Madhu says poetry permitted her to sew her own identity from fragments of being a ‘third culture kid’
WHEN I WAS 10, I begged to be sent to a boarding school located in a remote valley of Southern India. With persistent pleas, my parents eventually relented. The joys and sorrows of being away from home will someday feature in my own version of ‘Malory Towers’. Living in the stillness of nature, devoid of all gizmos, lead to a period of prolific reading and writing. A canopy of banyan trees by day and a blanket of stars by night nurtured a love for poetry. Relocating to Dubai for high school, poems inscribed in diaries came to life in the form of spoken word poetry. That changed the trajectory of my life.
Much effort goes into understanding the world, yet understanding oneself seems to be a petulant claimant on our time. As the founder of a poetry club in my school, my mission is for the evolving minds to gain a healthy sense of self. Just as poetry permitted me to sew my own identity from fragments of being a ‘third culture kid’, I fervently hope my peers never beg to be considered ‘enough’. My generation lives life in marketable images, where ‘filters’ feign feelings and flaws. Limiting our ability to encounter reality, it manifests into dissatisfaction and disillusionment. I worry about our ephemeral engagement with the world and the ability of such minds to adequately respond to today’s pressing challenges. I’m convinced poetry will draw students back to reality and reconnect them to their inner self.
As an art of self-expression, poetry helps us appreciate the interconnectedness of humanity with one another and with nature. My friend, Neeraj Samtani, and I have started a video journey to make visible the invisible joys and sorrows of ordinary people through poetry. Titled ‘Verse of Myself’, we encounter people in verse, rather than as fleeting acquaintances. The experience has been magical for us, our participants and our viewers.
There is an astounding proliferation of poetry programs in Dubai. With a rich calendar of poetry events in the form of poetry slams, performance poetry, open mics and readings, Dubai is at the forefront of this literary arts movement. Engaging with The Noble Poetry Club, my fellow poetry enthusiasts and I perform classic English poems in diverse languages. We create a space for society to reflect on our shared destiny, thereby weaving humanity together. The Club comprises accomplished poets, actors, dancers and musicians, and as the only teenager in the cast I paved the path for other teenagers to reclaim spaces to be heard.
On my maiden visit to the USA, I participated in the Boston Poetry Marathon. I encountered an America far removed from its glitzy Hollywood portrayal. Fervent reflections emanating from cauldrons of discontent unveiled an America at odds with itself. I witnessed poetry transform into an aesthetic dialogue to express, and far more importantly, to accept dissent. Such fora to partake in reasoned expression, rather than rabble-rousing rhetoric, is an urgent need for this polarised world.
As the chronicler of my mind, poetry has given me a passion with a purpose. A society that engages in rigorous and reasoned thinking, as demanded by poetry, can only do better and be better. I believe poetry has the power to change the way we engage with the world. Even if only one verse, one poem at a time.