The festival opened with an inaugural ceremony graced by Ms Ana Paula Arendt, Deputy Consul General of Brazil in Mumbai. Known in literary circles by her pseudonym R. P. Alencar, she is a political scientist, poet, and diplomat. Guests of Honour included filmmaker and poet Milind Ukey; Dr Sujata Jadhav, Head of the Reference Library and Documentation Centre at NCPA; and Ms Neelam Saxena, founder of LWG. Poet Sunil Joshi served as Master of Ceremonies.
The traditional lamp-lighting was followed by Saraswati Vandana rendered by poet Archana Jain, after which the dignitaries addressed the audience. Ms Arendt recited her poem Duty of a Poet, drawing an emotional response from listeners. Mr Ukey spoke about his film Blue Whale in the Pond, reflecting on how shortcuts such as AI tools are shrinking people’s imaginative vision. Dr Jadhav highlighted poetry’s role in shaping empathetic individuals, while Ms Saxena expressed that her greatest literary wealth lies in the community of poetry lovers she has nurtured.
Poetry, Discussion, and Book Releases
The first session, Rhyme, Rhythm, and Poetry, featured Sunil Chaudhry, who performed lyrical pieces accompanied by guitar, moderated by Anjali Bajpai.
A special session of three book launches followed, with guests of eminence Milind Ukey, Dr Sujata Jadhav and Anupam Tiwari, Head of CSR, PR, and Corporate Communications at HPCL. The books included She, Who Lives in Me, a coffee-table tribute to Neelam Saxena’s late mother Shashi Saxena; Saxena’s Hindi poetry collection Mere Man Ka Mast Parinda; and Surekha Sahu’s The Ceiling, Me, and My Sleepless Nights. Poems were recited by Dr Sujata Jadhav, Milind Ukey and Neelam Saxena. The session was moderated by Pooja Dhadiwal.
A panel discussion on Poetry in Present Times, moderated by Asha Gaur, brought together eminent voices—Dr Rita Malhotra, Urna Bose, Gargi Bagchi, and Meera Bhansali.
This was followed by a thought-provoking Hindi poetry segment, Parampara se Prashna Tak, conducted by Juhi Gupte, featuring eminent poets Anoop Pandey, Surekha Sahu, Anjali Bajpai, Mani Saxena, Vinod Kumar Singh, Pooja Dhadiwal, and Juhi Gupte. Anoop Pandey concluded the session highlighting the rendered poems.
The English poetry session, Lines That Linger, moderated by Nikita Saxena, showcased works by Dr Purnima Kulkarni, Dr Maitreyee Joshi, Sara Khan, Urvi Mehta, Nikita Saxena, and young poet Riaan Bagchi. Dr Kulkarni summed up the session quoting poets on the forum.
After lunch, a light-hearted Shabdakshari session led by Juhi Gupte saw lively participation from Neelam Saxena, Bhaskar Jha, Sunil Joshi. This was an interesting poetry challenge, and poets wrote poetry on given prompt in stipulated time.
Subsequent Hindi (Prem ki Doosri Pankti) and Marathi (Manatlya Samvedana) sessions were conducted by Surekha Sahu and Tejal Gaikwad Mane. Hindi love poems saw contributions from a wide roaster of poets including Asha Singh Gaur, Vikas Singh, Dr Mamta Tiwari Tripathi, Archana Jain, Bhaskar Jha. Bhaskar Jha summed up the session in his captivating words.
Marathi poets led by Tejal Gaikwad Mane, took over the stage with raw emotions. Neelam Saxena, Shashikala Kalkar, Vaibhav Shahane, Nisha Motghare, Unmesh Mohitkar and Tejal Gaikwad rendered soulful poems. Unmesh Mohitkar beautifully summarised the session.
The evening featured Love-Soaked Lyrical Poems by Vineet Mishra, accompanied by guitar and moderated by Dr Maitreyee Joshi.
A standout performance came from trained vocalists Anup Jalan and Kushal Gopalka, known as the Bombay Brothers, who presented Dhrupad renditions of works by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Jaishankar Prasad, Gopaldas ‘Neeraj’, and Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’ in the segment Words and Waves, moderated by Meera Bhansali.
The festival concluded with an open mic hosted by Sara Khan, followed by the valedictory ceremony—bringing to close a vibrant celebration of poetry in its many forms.
NCPA felicitated the poets with trophies and certificates, a gesture that was deeply appreciated by all. The gracious support and encouragement extended by Shri Khushroo Suntook, Chairman, NCPA, were sincerely acknowledged. The valuable contribution of the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra, was also warmly appreciated.
Literature, as reflected throughout the festival, remains a powerful force in elevating society. By nurturing imagination, empathy, dialogue, and cultural continuity, poetry builds bridges across generations and geographies. Events such as Words in Bloom reaffirm that literary expression is not merely artistic engagement but a vital social instrument—one that refines sensibilities, strengthens community bonds, and inspires thoughtful citizenship.
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