“Poetry has an innate attribute to make the reader feel one with the emotion expressed.” With these words, Vijay Phanshikar, Editor, The Hitavada, captured the spirit of an evening dedicated to a celebration of poetry itself. The occasion was the release of Verse-a-tile III, an anthology comprising 146 poems by 13 Nagpur-based poets, at R S Mundle Dharampeth Arts and Commerce College. For Phanshikar, the answer to the question ‘What is it that makes poetry endure?’ lay in the countless moments of life that resist ordinary description. He also shared memories of literary giants Grace, Suresh Bhat and Kavi Anil, recalling not only their brilliance but their infectious enthusiasm for poetry. With humour, he recounted evenings spent listening to Grace recite his poems deep into the night.

 

What he admired most, he said, was the spontaneity they brought to their craft -- an honesty of expression that remained untouched by calculation. He also discussed ‘The Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics’, the celebrated anthology compiled by Francis Turner Palgrave in 1861 with the guidance of Alfred Lord Tennyson. Phanshikar spoke about the importance of musicality in poetry and Tennyson’s belief that poetry should not become overly narrative or didactic. Guest of honour Dr Prafull Shiledar approached poetry from another perspective -- that of language.

 

The multilingual writer spoke of poetry’s remarkable ability to transcend linguistic boundaries, arguing that while languages differ, emotions rarely do. He recalled the story of an African poet who chose to abandon English and write in his mother tongue, believing that literature must remain rooted in its own cultural landscape. Those ideas seemed fitting for Verse-a-tile III, edited by Dr Tapati Dey, whose own artistic pursuits span dance, painting, writing and literature. Bringing together poets associated with Minstrels, a literary collective that has spent nearly three decades nurturing poetry and creative expression, the anthology reflects a range of voices united by a shared commitment to the written word. Dr Dey paid tribute to the late Dr Pranoti Chuckerbutty by reading one of her poems, which she also mentioned was one of the last ones she had written before her passing in 2025. Sandeep Agrawal; Dhruti Bedekar; Dr Supantha Bhattacharya; Dr Farhat Daud; Anuradha Paul; Richa Mohunta; Sandeep Agrawal; Dr Manjushri Sardeshpande, Principal, R S Mundle Dharampeth Arts and Commerce College; Subhra Sinha; Lata Thegaonkar; Usha Sakure and Vaswati Dutta contributed to the anthology.