Barsaat

“A poet before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.”

Owing to poetic symbolism, on a rainy afternoon, the Book Reading Club of The Bhawanipur Education Society College hosted ‘Barsaat’ as an ode to the monsoon season, known to evoke intense emotions in the hearts of all hopeless romantics. It was held on August 28, 2025, from 3 P.M. in the Jubilee Hall of the college campus, with around 180 attendees. Dr. Vasundhara Mishra, the mentor of the Book Reading Club, was invited onto the stage, where she introduced Barsaat and explained the flow of the event, acknowledging the various professors and students who attended despite the heavy rains. The host of the day then proceeded to call upon everyone who wished to pour their hearts out.

Much of the poetry was in Hindi and Urdu, with three poems in English. The poems spoke of a whirlwind of emotions attached to the monsoon – hope against hope itself, love, loss, heartbreak, the budding of new life, rejuvenation, longing, anguish, the soothing power of the season, its destructive capabilities, and emotions that had no name but could only be felt. Each emotion was explored and dissected in melodious expressions. The bond between nature and the human heart was elevated and given a stage of its own. The droplets of rain were compared to the soft touch of love that revitalises the barren land of one’s heart, and also to a blanket for the tears that follow when that land dries up and cracks once more. The closing act was presented by Vedant Gupta, the curator of the event. The audience sat through performance after performance in a reverie as they related their own experiences to the words of the poets, applauding enthusiastically after each one.

The jamming session began with a round of performances by the professors on the theme of rain and monsoon, and the beautiful, devastating flood it causes in our hearts. Lata Mangeshkar’s melodious “Ghar Aaja Ghir Aaye Badra” was followed by a jolly and explosive “Barso Re”, accompanied by flashing lights and the audience beating time with their hands. Next, the Music Collective of BESC began their series of individual and duet performances by students. Songs such as “Rimjhim Gire Saawan”, “Dekhecho Ki Taake”, and “Rim Jhim Rim Jhim” took the transfixed audience on waves of upbeat as well as slow, drowsiness-inducing music, never allowing monotony to set in.

With a final group performance by Crescendo, the anchors expressed their gratitude to the audience for attending the event and invited everyone onto the stage for a group photo before moving on to the last leg of the event – the DJ session.

REPORTER – Saptak Roy Chowdhury
PHOTOGRAPHER – Gourav Chowdhury