Rostrum Diaries, an umbrella association of poets, artists, singers, theatre personalities, and handicraft promoters, launched ‘GubbiBoo’, a multi-lingual platform for performing arts, in Belagavi on Saturday.
Most of the guests who spoke at the event at the Eefa Hotel, felt there was an urgent need for such a venture in Belagavi that is home to people who speak many languages.
“Belagavi has a unique blend flavours of literature, music, and art. Organisations like Rostrum Diaries are working towards nurturing this confluence, said Rajesh Kumar Maurya,” director, Sambra airport at Belagavi.
“There is no dearth of talent in the city. What we need is a platform to bring out the talent among the youth,” said Madhav Prabhu, one of the mentors of Rostrum Diaries.
“GubbiBoo is a venture for promotion of arts and crafts. It can also be a tool used to educate people about the happenings around them,” Abhishek Bendigeri, curator, said at the launch event.
The guests also launched The Artly Times — a digital magazine to promote various kinds of visual and performing arts. “We are trying to shape the magazine into an international platform for performers. We plan to publish interviews of artists, introductions to art forms, insights on performing and fine arts, focus on new talent and display of artwork. In a way, Artly Times is the brewery for all this,” Mr Bendigeri said. The open mic sessions included poets in Kannada, Hindi, Urdu, and English. Writers Anand Mensi, Minaz Tahsildar, Vaishnavi Kudachi, Lehar Srivastav, Veerkumar Patil, Sagar Belgundkar, Rashmi Angadi, and others recited their poems.
NGO Pankh put up a stall of products made by women artisans. Educationist Vinod Doddannavar, poet Marie Raghavan, writer Laxmi Tendulkar, writer Sidharth Vaddennavar, content creator Swati Jog, philanthropist Sonali Sarnobat, and others spoke.
