Poetry is not an unknown quantity here. Adi-kabis, ashu-kabis, bal-kabis, you name it, we'll rhyme it. But something wicked this way doth come. Poetry slam in Nepal? Gimme some.

Last Friday, in the stuffy environs of the Nepal-Bharat Library, New Road, the audience was kept waiting for the three members of Lyrics Independence, the main act for the 'Word Warriors' prelude to December's poetry slams to be organised by Quixote's Cove. Outside, hawkers hitched their own rhymes to the cheap goods lining the streets, and we began to wonder if this was the only poetry we'd get that day. But the traffic finally cleared, and in a flurry of embraces, the poets arrived.

Lyrics Independence call themselves a lyrical hip-hop trio, and it showed in the way they spoke, dressed, and interacted with each other and the audience. But their verse, delivered singly in English and Nepali, was thankfully stripped of the bling and blather of MTV-hop. It reminded us what hip-hop was perhaps always meant to be. Granted, the format � rapidfire recitals in front of a mixed audience � was always going to favour belligerent, rhyming verse and wordplay that doesn't quite encapsulate poetry's artistic range. But there was no doubt about the poetic spirit on display from Gaurab Subba, Yanik Shrestha, and Aidray. Speaking at the end of the short program, Gaurab exhorted youth to take part in the events planned for December. "If you're a youth living in Nepal and have nothing to express, he declared, "You're a stone, man." 'Nuff said.

See Wordmill poster for details of the poetry slams taking place in December.