Every Thursday at 6:45 p.m., after the last customer has left, the bank employees rearrange the tables and chairs for a poetry reading session. For the next hour, the bank becomes a place where the only notes exchanged are literary.
The man behind the bank’s poetic turn is Amit Dahiyabadshah, founder of Delhi Poetree, who has earlier organised poetry reading events in the city. Says Dahiyabadshah, “Previously we held reading sessions for members of Delhi Poetree at the India Habitat Centre but that was becoming too expensive. So, we approached the manager at Axis bank for assistance.”
If you still haven’t reconciled finance with literature, Dahiyabadshah reasons poetically, “If money talks, then why can’t it recite?”
The venue is open to customers and employees of the bank and the members from Delhi Poetree. In the six months that it’s been around, the project has got an enthusiastic response. The beginning was shaky though. Says Karan Butalia, branch-head, Axis Bank, “We had only 10 people along with Amit for the first reading. But later as word spread, the idea gained momentum and now we host a minimum of 25 people per session. On good days, we get about 40 people.”
And though Butalia has never penned a poem, he is an enthusiastic listener. “It’s a good way to unwind after a hectic day at work. And I don’t charge a penny since all I am doing is lending out the space for an hour after work and offering the guests a cup of coffee. In return I am building a good customer base for my bank. I even thought of calling it ‘coffee with Karan,” he says.
At any session, there are at least five to six bank employees present and the poets are mostly amateurs. One of the customers who became a keen participant after attending the sessions is Shikha Khanna, 26, a photographer. “After sitting for a couple of readings at the bank, one day I scribbled a few words on paper and I was on my way to writing poetry.”
As for Butalia, he is content absorbing the poetry. After the huge popularity of the readings here, he has now floated a plan to host readings at all outlets of Axis Bank branches in Delhi.
To participate in poetry readings at Axis Bank, B-81 Defence Colony, contact Karan Butalia at 41556452