A bunch of youngsters are trying to break the great divide that separates various forms of expression. Coming up: a mash-up of poetry and art, music and film

A bunch of youngsters are trying to break the great divide that separates various forms of expression. Coming up: a mash-up of poetry and art, music and film

There are some who work within a frame. They compartmentalise their thoughts and work around fitting their narrow world into a two-dimensional imaginary square. And then there are those who, pardon us for using a done-to-death cliche, think outside the box. The crazy bunch at Madness Mandali falls into the second category. They defy notions of creative output and 'combine their powers' to make -- as they self-proclaim -- a maha mash-up.

The Madness Mandali team

The online group created in June this year is made up of amateur artists, photographers, poets, actors and musicians, and is ready to self-publish a book that brings together poetry and illustration. "We found that the inspiration behind a creative piece often comes from another medium of expression altogether," says Paras Sharma, 22, student and co-founder.

"Creative clubs in the city exist in isolation; there is nothing to bring them together." So what this group did was invite people to send in their original poems. They then chose 31 of those that will make their way into the book. "We then gave these poems to 31 artists who were asked to interpret them into art," says Sharma. The result? A black-and-white print-on-demand book that will be out in November, priced at Rs 250.

We are a little skeptical about the one man jury shortlisting process (a professor of English Literature for poetry and a girl who runs a design company, for the illustrations), but the 'visual poetry project' seems exciting, because it cuts off editors, publishers and retailers -- often the middlemen who stand in the way of directly getting us the creator's original works.

If you have missed the bus to getting one of your creations in this visual poetry project, don't sulk. You can still post your creations online to receive valuable feedback from various creative heads around the country. get on to the Mandali Facebook page. "What we are currently working on is getting together six to eight amateur but superbly talented musicians to produce an album of their works," says Yorick Pinto, copywriter and member of the group. "We plan to tie up with upcoming filmmakers who'd be interested in creating videos for these bands, and put out their work too."

Soon, you will also be seeing poetry slams accompanied by live art at a neighbourhood caf ufffd. Once in three months, the group plans to hold an Art Swap, where artists who are part of the Mandali, get together and exchange their works. And if you suddenly spot a flash mob that will strike with a play, guitar playing session or the Nashik Dhol, this maverick bunch might just be behind it.

"This space is open to just about anyone who has an original creation but has no idea how to put it out there," says Sharma. To post your works,

log on to madnessmandali.blogspot.com