No I haven’t become a father. (Consider this, if I actually had become a father, I wouldn’t have time to write this note. I would be too busy catching up on naps and changing nappies.)
My little bundle of joy is Madness Mandali’s book of visual poetry KaviKala. Holding the book in my hand, leafing gingerly through each page and taking in eyefuls of art and poetry gives me joy like nothing else before.
I had always longed to make a book of fun – something that would make me feel positive when I was down in the dumps. KaviKala does that to me. All I have to do is to read the poems and enjoy the art along with it and I am automatically elevated to a happier zone. So much so that I often catch myself smiling randomly. Mad, eh? This is not Madness. This is KaviKala. As the cover suggests, 33 artists + poets = 1 maha mashup!
Each poem in Kavikala is penned by a different poet. The artwork accompanying each poem too is custom-made by a different artist based on his/her perception of each poem. The book thus becomes one of the few attempts at creating visual poetry – poetry that you can see not just in front of your mind’s eye but also the real ones.
Being in the advertising industry, my kind is always on the look out for interesting things, things that are not the usual and things that compell you to react. I did not know the meaning of the phrase ‘jaw-dropping’ until I was asked to proof-read the manuscript of the book. My jaw dropped and stayed on the floor till I finished proof-reading. My four eyes had never seen anything this enchanting in art. My brain found it difficult to comprehend that art in black and white could look as gorgeous as it is in the book.
Self-published and arranged so as to facilitate print-on-order’ KaviKala reeks of the need to encourage young creative brains.
I won’t ask you to buy a copy but this I will definitely tell you, if you haven’t read KaviKala yet, you just missed a few hundred trains to la la land.
P.S: Dear poets and artists inside KaviKala, I am in love with your work. Thank you for letting me be a part of this awesome compilation. Hope to meet all of you in person some day.
