Firstpost Poetry Project: Ramneek Singh presents 'Cheetiyaan' and 'Shehar Matrix'

Beginning 22 June, Firstpost embarks on an 8 week-long journey of poetry. Featuring poets who write in English and Hindi, this project is meant to both showcase their art as well as their individual creative processes. These poets write for the page and for the stage, and the themes of their works range from love and friendships to how power-hungry human society can be. Their verses, expressed in the 'spoken word' format, are brought to life by visuals and supported by music.Presenting — The Firstpost Poetry Project.This is the third poet featured in this series.***"When you have a passion for something, you don't really ask yourself the question 'Why am I doing this?' You just continue pursuing it. It's like falling in love; you don't question why you are in love, you just feel that way."Poetry means many different things to Ramneek Singh. When he had just begun writing, he did not measure the value that this art form held in his life. After some time, it became the only thing he actively participated in as a child, apart from academics. Over the years, it has helped him to understand his own opinions on matters of society and politics. It has prompted him to probe his own mind and think about his experiences."It is akin to an alarm that the poet rings when they see something wrong happening in society," he says. He believes that both the written and spoken word can be effectively used as weapons.The audience is integral to the art form, he opines. "Having an audience accentuates the performance and the experience of the poet themselves. Before the advent of the performance poetry scene and before it boomed, I didn't quite know what could be achieved," he says.The merit of spoken word as an art form lies in both its urgency as well as its direct nature, Singh says. "There are certain things happening in the world about which we must speak urgently. If I write a poem to be published in a book, it will take longer to reach people and its relevance may be lost. Sometimes, one wants to react to something happening in the present, so that people may understand what is happening and take action. For this, performance poetry is necessary."But he is quick to note that poems should not lack flow and rhythm just because they are being performed. "The poem has to be lyrical," he asserts.He also appreciates page poetry and says that the goal of both forms is the same — to be understood. "Page poetry is a craft unto itself. You can experiment to a great extent when it comes to the physical space on the page; you can leave a lot unsaid even if there are many thoughts swirling around in your head. You want your reader to figure it out — that is where the poet's satisfaction lies. It is like a riddle."He doesn't have a definitive answer to the question, 'What draws you to poetry?' "I don't think there is any answer for me, except poetry. I don't think I can excel at anything else the way I do at poetry."Cheetiyaan

Shehar Matrix Bahut nazdeek seBahut saaf nahi dikhtaThodi unchaayi se dekhne parSubah subah chote chote cut-piece park meinUmar lambi karne aaye logHaath hawaa mein latka keJab thahaake lagaate hainToh shehar hass deta hai shaitaani hasiUsse hadbadaayi bheed ko dekhne mein mazaa aata haiShaayad usse kabootaron ke uss jhund ki yaad aa jaati haiJo shikaari se bachne ke liye sabak yaad karta haiAur din bhar ratta lagaata rehta haiShikaari aayega, daana daalega, daana nahi chugnaAur daana dalte hi uss par kood padta hai, par sabak jaari rahta hai kiShikaari aayega daana daalega daana nahi chugna Kandhe par latke shikaari ke jaal mein faskar bhiShikaari aayega daana daalega daana nahi chugna Naak ki disha mein chale jaa rahe hain sabShehar matrix mein badal gaya haiJungle bache nahiNa jaane kis ke darr se humne shehar ko CCTV ke shaamiyaane se dhak diya hai Shehar neend mein hone ka bahaana karta haiJab raaton raat jhuggiyon ke beecho beechTownship waale beej bo diye jaate hainAur subah hote hote ugg aate hain eent aur concrete ke daanavJinki naak ke neeche se nikalte hain fly-overAur flyover ki surakhsha mein tainaatHoardingJahaan se utarte hain sapne neecheAur utpaat machaate hainDimaag mein uskeJiski naukri abhi lagi hi haiJisse ghar khareedna haiSapno ka gharRustomjee waala – poora 555 square footJisse voh khareed sakta hai sirf teen crore bayalis lakh rupaye meinYa bees hazaar ki aasaan 120 kishton meinUsse yakeen haiItne acche builder usse kahaan milengeJo banaakar denge usse ek gharEk cute ka bageechaAur 20 saal ki guarantee vaala badaa sa EMI ka pinjraJisme se voh dekhega duniyaWindow-sill par baithkar ginega bachi hui kishteAur apne khareede hue bakse meinSikha dega khush rehna apne saath apne bacchon ko bhiBacche, jinke liye suraj ab A-Wing ke peeche se nikalta haiAur C-Wing waali building ke peeche chhup jaata haiJo aasmaan mein jahaaz ki light koTootataa sitaara samajh kar mannatein maangte hainJinhe iss baat ka andaaza tak nahi kiUnke hisse mein kya kya nahi aaya Jaayaz bhi haiPaida hote hi parinde ki pinjre mein rakh diya jaayeToh usse aasmaan ko dekhkar bechaini nahin hotiUsse apni gulaami ka ehsaas nahin hota Vaham ki ek parat dhak ke rakhti hai vaham ki kayi parton koApni pareshaani chhupa ke muskuraane waale sab ek se dikhte hainShehar apni sahuliyat ke liyeSab ke chehre ek jaise kar deta haiJinki shinaakth ke liye bheed se doori ka hona bahut zaroori haiKyunkiBahut nazdeek seBahut saaf nahi dikhta***Read about the first and second poet featured in this series