Second ‘Khushi’ Poetry Meeting @ Belgrave Library

James Black

On Wednesday 14^th July the second meeting of the Khushi women’s poetry group took place at Belgrave Library. The meeting was led by Leicester Libraries resident Book Doctor Alison Dunne and from Fosse Arts ceramics tutor Fiona Meagher.

The word ‘Khushi’ means happy in Gujarati and the idea of happiness is central to the group as the meetings allow each of the members to get together with people from a similar background to their own, have fun and express themselves through words and the creation of their artwork. The Khushi Group have been working on a project themed around the seaside. They are planning a trip to the coast where filmmaker Keith Allot will shoot a film which hopefully, (if all goes according to plan,) will be shown at the Lyric Lounge on Friday 30^th July.

Wednesday’s meetings began with Alison asking the ladies to think of a time when they were at the seaside and the experiences, feelings, ideas that the visit evoked. Images that cropped up time and again include the glorious sunshine, the delight of seeing children at play, the sound of their laughter and, (just to remind us that this is a women’s workshop,) shopping on the promenade! When talking about the serene environment of beach the group spoke of the profound sense of peacefulness, calm and well-being they had experienced when at the seaside.

Alison did not allow me to be a silent observer and I was joined in with my experiences of the seaside. The irony of my story of looking out onto the Arabian Sea in Goa, India was not lost on the group of Asian ladies, especially as they had been speaking about their visits to Great Yarmouth and Blackpool! When I said that looking out to the vastness of the water put me in a reflective mood Alison remarked that psychologists often associate images of water with our emotions: dreaming of water is said to symbolise the unconscious – well she hasn’t got a column in the Leicester Mercury for nothing you know!

Alison then asked the group to write down a five or six words and one sentence from what they had written. These words were then used to decorate the clay stones and rocks in the ceramics part of the Khushi session. The practical side of the session got underway as the ladies got stuck into their work fashioning pebbles and stones out of clay. This time gave everybody a chance to chat to one another and create some interesting pieces of work; one lady even moulded a (perhaps sacred) cow much to the hilarity and delight of her friends.

Throughout the session I was struck by the friendliness of the atmosphere and how much the women seemed to enjoy their activities. If you would like to see more photos of the session please visit the Lyric Lounge 2010 photo set on Flickr.