New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS): Poetic voices from 18 countries will converge in the national capital for Raza Utsav's poetry biennale "VAK-The Raza Biennale of Asian Poetry 2019", starting on Friday.

The Biennale aspires to remind the people of the continuing struggle, resistance for truth, tolerance, and non-violence through hard-hitting poetry and discussions.

The three-day confluence of poets at the India International Centre coincides with the celebration of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It will feature 20 international poets and six Indian poets.

"Perhaps, this would be the first time that many of these poets would be coming to India from as far as Korea, China, Japan, Iran, Singapore, Armenia, Georgia, Palestine, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan," Hindi poet and managing trustee of the Raza Foundation Ashok Vajpeyi said.

The event will also celebrate the birth of the legendary Indian modern painter and Raza Foundation's founder, Sayed Haider Raza.