This festivals brings together female artists to celebrate women in literature

A festival brings together female artistes to celebrate women in literature and arts from different languages

A Crossovers Poetry meet in progress

While poetry and literature are not limited by gender or language, women poets have long remained on the periphery of public acclaim. As works about women and by women from diverse backgrounds take centre stage this Saturday, more than 35 powerful women artistes will reclaim the narrative around women-based literature through poetry, music and conversation.

Sanket Mhatre

"Crossovers Poetry was launched as an initiative to unite poets from different languages. But, women's poetry is different, and a single session is not enough to celebrate all its aspects," says Sanket Mhatre, a poet, lyricist and founder of Crossovers Poetry, a platform that promotes artistes from different languages. WeCrossover is a daylong event in association with Women Empowered - India, which will have women illustrating their works in English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, and German.

Smeetha Bhoumik

"My writings are not entirely women-centric and are more about social justice and issues, but this is an important initiative to understand women's literature more deeply," says Smeetha Bhoumik, founder, Women Empowered-India, and a published poet who has presented her work at several international exhibitions. The event will feature diverse performances, including a conversation about Ramayana's female character, Urmila, and an interaction with music journalist Divya Naik about how women have shaped the music industry.

Sanket believes that although the event is exclusively for women, it should include men and other arts, too. Hence, the festival will feature several acclaimed male artistes with their women-centric works, a stand-up act by Kajol Srinivasan, who promotes women-empowerment, and will conclude with an open-mic session.

On Saturday, March 24, 10 am to 7.30 pm
At Max Mueller Bhavan, Kala Ghoda.
Call 9987321936

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