Tenth edition of Bengaluru Poetry Festival to be held in the city

At a previous edition of the festival | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement When it comes to poetry, there is an interesting dichotomy that Atta Galatta’s Subodh Sankar cannot help but notice. “Poetry just doesn’t get enough space, among other forms of literature,” says Subodh, also the co-founder of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival (BPF), an annual literary event dedicated solely to poetry, which will hold its 10th edition this August.But, interestingly, when someone actually puts together an event dedicated to it, there is always a large audience, he remarks. “It makes you question why, of course. The bottom line, is, despite what the market says, there is a massive audience for the festival,” he says, pointing out that, 10 years is a solid inning for BPF. “So long as we are able to convince enough people to support the festival, it becomes almost a no-brainer to do every August.” Poet and dancer Tishani Doshi | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement This year’s edition, which will take place at the Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha, focuses “heavily on the beauty of Indian languages. We have tried to get representation from as many languages as we could and try to showcase the breadth, depth and beauty of our Indian poetic traditions in various languages,” says Subodh, listing out the Indian-language poets who will be part of the festival, including Doyir Ete Taipodia, Gopika Jadeja, Inakali Assumi and Nirmala Putul.“We are representing at least 15 different languages, and I really hope we do justice to these people. They are doing phenomenal work, and we are just hoping that we can be part of the world that supports them in their endeavours.” Lakshmi Subodh and Subodh Sankar, co-founders of Atta Galatta and the Bengaluru Poetry Festival | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Some of the other prominent speakers at the event include Devdutt Pattanaik, “who is going to do an interesting keynote talk on the Indic traditions of poetry, basically exploring the tradition of poetry that has existed in this country for millenia”; the Kannada actor, Ramya, discussing “the poetry that has inspired her life’s journey so far” and actor-director Prakash Raj, “who writes poetry and also does some fantastic spoken-word poetry in Kannada,” says Subodh. Devdutt Pattanaik | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement There will also be a performance by the dancer and writer Tishani Doshi, a dramatised reading of Kalidasa’s Meghadūta, a dance-theatre-music performance by Deepti Sudhindra, and a Hasya Kavita by Mahesh Garg aka Bedhadak, among many others. “We have always had performance as part of poetry, because, especially in the Indian tradition, it comes as an extension of the underlying poetry and lyric.” The children’s festival is an important part of the programming | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement In addition to the talks, panel discussions and performances, a series of workshops as well as a separate festival for children, comprising activities, book readings, storytelling and performances, will also be held at the Bengaluru Poetry Festival. “These are things we’ve had every year,” says Subodh. “Every opportunity we get to invest in children, you have to, right?”The 10th edition of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival will be held on August 1 and 2 at Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha. The event is free and open to all. To know more or register, log into bengalurupoetryfestival.org Published - July 22, 2026 06:12 am IST