"‘Man is guilty,’ the judge decreed./ ‘Put him in jail at once with speed./ To years of warning, he paid no heed/ For him, our planet has just no need,’” Deahnoush Udwadia of Activity High School expressed the need to save the ocean and planet through his poem Mother Earth seeking Justice. He was participating in the 12th Poetry Festival in Bombay under the flag of 100 Thousand Poets For Change that was themed around "One Planet One Ocean” and held in Kitab Khana (bookstore) on November 18-19, 2023 after three festivals online. Co-curator Rati Wadia sent Parsiana a note on the event which included poetry recitals and play readings by 52 students from four schools.
Above, from l: Cmde Sadashiv Vombatkere, Pervin Saket, Katie Bagli,
Menka Shivdasani, Rati Wadia; inset: budding poets
Author Katie Bagli’s play Long Live the Ocean, to raise awareness on saving our water bodies, enacted by the children of Club Elves was "the highlight of our evening,” noted Wadia.
Menka Shivdasani, curator of the Festival, paid tribute to the co-founder of this global movement Michael Rothenberg who passed away in November 2022. A book, 100 Thousand Poets for Change: 10+ years of poetic activism, was released. The chief guest was author and poet Pervin Saket. Guest of honor Cmde Sadashiv Vombatkere came to "simply sing” at the Festival, noted Wadia.