About the Founder
Saumya Choudhury founded the poetry organization Delhi Poetry Slam in 2013, bringing the art of performance poetry to India. For many people who aspired for freedom, both in the socio-political environment of the country and within their own selves, poetry slam became a catalyst for transformation. The space created by Delhi Poetry Slam emanated a magnetic energy, driven by shared hopes and dreams of people, along with an awkwardness of making spontaneous connections.
In 2017, Choudhury took a hiatus from the world of events, focussing on a programming project that would scale the impact of poetic expression without the limitations of an event- seating capacity, time constraints and traffic. She moved from Delhi to the small village of Santiniketan in West Bengal, where she built the popular networking website Poem Pajama from scratch- an uncensored place for Indian poets to share their works online. She lived for two years in the homes of Santhali tribals, interacting closely with the children and families, learning about their artistic work in composing Bawl music, sohrai murals and construction of double storied mud-houses.
Saumya Choudhury became the first and only Indian to be invited to Washington D.C. (USA) as part of Gulen Institute's endeavour to honour emerging youth voices from across the world.
Witnessing a global melting pot of voices deeply inspired her to create a residency for artists within her home country. This birthed the Slam India Writing Retreats which have taken place in twice in Jaipur and once in Goa, serving as a home for global collaborations, friendships and belonging. Financing the project with savings, she has hosted numerous international poets, writers and artists in India.
She has been a featured performer at leading venues such as American Embassy, Bikaner House, Korean Cultural Center and Siri Fort Auditorium. Her writing has appeared in mostly offbeat publications such as 63 Channels, O Heraldo, Shakthi Daily and The Hindu.
She is the recipient of the 35th Y. Kumar Award for International Understanding presented to her by the late Sitaram Yechury. Occasionally, she teaches poetry at universities including IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Kharagpur, Miranda House and conducts writing workshops with teenagers at Prometheus School, Heritage Xperential School and Sanskriti School.
Choudhury is a passionate writer and reader of poetry, and uses her extensive experience across the fields of editing, publishing and publicity to represent new authors at Delhi Poetry Slam.
Poems
Choudhury has a way of making identity crises and moving cities feel like deep life lessons wrapped in poetry.
Her style is a mix of nostalgia, sharp wit, and emotional gut-punches—kind of like reminiscing over old texts you should have deleted.
With a knack for straightforwardness and a little existential dread on the side, she turns lost languages, lost love, and lost luggage into something strange yet beautiful.
She is proud of her East Indian heritage, which helps her navigate the world with a moral compass.
Escapism
When a poem is half-written
and half-torn,
as a word unsaid
or a promise undone,
does it feel that whatever
is discarded,
comes back later as a ghost?
Only this time
pounding at my door
on a late winter evening,
soliciting what I owe.
Our debt to the past grows
as we get older.
Enough goodbyes,
abrupt departures,
leaving and rushing to airports,
tainted memories of a suitcase lost,
wallet stolen,
missed calls from parents,
the photo on my desktop
of a hometown
that has stood still in time.
I have moved on.
It takes years of practice
following floor lights
to the nearest emergency exit,
and then, I might nearly escape
everything
that could ever hurt me.
So when a thought digresses,
I can afford tossing
an unfinished poem
in the dustbin.
My Mother Never Passed Down Her Language
My mother never passed down her language.
She said ‘Learn English, my child’
So that we, the immigrants-
from a small village in Bihar
are never made a joke of,
in the big city where we must survive.
So we are never called Bihari,
A term so loosely used for your family driver
or the Malli nourishing your flowering plants with khaad,
Or the bhaiyya you forgot to leave a tip to
on the airport taxi home.
Bihari
a slang for someone stupid,
someone who can’t think too much
someone who knows no toilet etiquette,
unclean,
unhygenic.
My mother nudged me to sing
the English alphabet at family functions
as a song of pride,
ABCDEFGH…
Until my tongue produced only flat sounds,
And I forget to stress the rounded vowels like her,
the aah at the end of rasa-gullah,
the nasalness of kathilaa- a word meaning why.
My mother refuses to pass down her language
Maithali- from the ancient kingdom of Mithila,
where the soil is red,
and the trees wild in monsoon.
Instead,
my mother passes down her shame
so I ask her,
Does shame taste bitter?
until I can feel it in my mouth
like stale animal meat
each time someone asks
Where are you from?
I do not reply
Bihar,
no I don’t
so they can never categorize me
a Bihari.
I evade the question,
I grew up in Delhi
I say with a straight face,
Until he investigates again
in the same line of questioning,
‘But… where is your mother-father from?’
My lips, dry with paralysis,
this time, the shames tastes even more bitter,
foul like acid reflux,
when taking antibiotics on an empty stomach,
my reply sounds like a sorry excuse,
my parents are from Bihar,
but we’ve never lived there.
'Where in Bihar?'
Muzzafarpur
I say,
stepping up to the plate,
My grandparents still live there,
we visit them on our summer vacation.
Isn’t that where lychees come from?
Yes, I nod,
still unsure if I should’ve admitted the truth,
anyhow,
the land of lychees
they hang in bunches
red and ripe
low enough for my arm to reach them
if I were standing on
my toes.
After all these years
the shame tastes sweet,
like the shahi litchi,
I’ve probably eaten a dozen
intoxicated with the smell,
I chew and chew,
a mouthful of translucent pulp,
and spit the seed out.
My mother refuses to pass down her language
And hey, hey, I’m okay with that…
somethings aren’t meant to be inherited
nor passed down,
as long as she leaves to me
her gold bangles
her pressure-cooker cake recipe
her bargaining skills with the sabjiwala
for a kilogram of tomatoes,
her infectious laughter,
always,
reminding me that in this world,
no matter which language my tongue
chooses to linger on,
I will always be heard.
In the News
Saumya Choudhury has been a transformative force in India's poetry scene. As the founder of Delhi Poetry Slam, she has tirelessly organized events that have rejuvenated public interest in the art form. Recognizing the limitations of offline events, Choudhury coded Poem Pajama, an innovative social network that transcends geographical boundaries, providing equal opportunities for poets nationwide. Her commitment to nurturing talent is further exemplified by the Wingword Poetry Competition, offering substantial cash prizes to emerging poets.
Source: Hindustan Times, India's leading newspaper
In an insightful discussion, Saumya Choudhury throws light on the therapeutic virtues of poetry. Reading poetry serves as a mechanism for stress alleviation, offering a profound sense of solace. Choudhury's perspective underscores the intrinsic value of poetry in fostering emotional well-being amidst contemporary life's myriad challenges.
Source: Edualmanac, an electronic magazine for education leaders and students
Saumya Choudhury, a poet and founder of Delhi Poetry Slam, has spent the last decade revitalizing poetry and inspiring young minds. Her approach emphasizes poetry as a speak-and-listen art form rather than solely focusing on reading.
“Poetry provides a safe and accessible outlet for children to explore complex feelings and ideas, such as self-discovery and bullying, allowing them to express themselves freely without fear of judgment or criticism,” she writes.
Source: Teacher Plus, a contemporary magazine for 25,000 teachers in India published monthly
Given the political climate of India, and a growing demand of a space to practise dissent, it was only time that something like Delhi Poetry Slam would emerge.
“This right here is a generation of troublemakers or rather change-makers. It’s often surprising how powerful words can be,” says Saumya Choudhury.
Source: Deccan Herald, an English language daily published from the Southern state of Karnataka
Video Interview
Young poets from schools and colleges have asked Saumya one question more than any other-
What is the meaning and purpose of poetry?
She has tried to answer some of those questions in the capacity she can. She hopes that these thoughts resonate with you.
Let's Connect
Instagram: @saumya.choudhury
Write to saumya@delhipoetryslam.com
Books, letters or mail can be posted to:
Delhi Poetry Slam
10 Parliament Street
New Delhi- 110001, India