World Poetry Day is celebrated every year on March 21, celebrating a linguistic expression that people from all cultures can identify with. Poetry can be found in the history of every nation, and brings us together under shared values and common humanity. The core purpose of poetry remains the same across all styles — to explore the human condition and invoke emotion through words. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war sets the broad context for this session of Poetry-Odds and Ends: War and Peace. Outbreaks of war capture our attention and our imagination as human beings, because of senseless violence, destruction, and loss being played out on large, visible scales. Yet low-level warfare is ongoing in human relationships – evident in political, religious, caste-based, and ethnic divisions, as well as in hostilities, strains, or breakdowns in communities, workplaces, and families. In that sense, warfare is perpetually ongoing all around us and within us. As is, the quest and potential for peace. Poetry, like all forms of literature, provides an opportunity to reflect on the human condition in all its complexities and contradictions. Alice Osborn, the poet/songwriter wrote: “Poetry’s strength lies in its ability to shed a “sideways” light on the world, so the truth sneaks up on you…. it bares open the vulnerabilities of human beings so we can all relate to each other a little better.” In this session, we do not seek resolutions, but insights and openings, the “sideways light” promised by Osborn, into war and peace in our lives. Drawing from curated poems in five major Indian languages – Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindustani, and English – the session will provide listeners with an opportunity to reflect on the selected theme. We welcome poetic contributions from the community on the theme of War and Peace in the languages that will be showcased at this session. These contributions could be by published or unpublished poets, or by the community members, themselves. While the timings may not permit the reading aloud of all the contributions from the community, we will display these poems at the Courtyard Koota on the day of the event. Please feel free to come by before or after the session, or at a time of your convenience to peruse these contributions!