A talk on Kalidasa’s works has been organised recently by Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence on the virtual platform for UK audiences. Ambassador of India to Madagascar Abhay Kumar, who translated Ritusamhara and Meghaduta into English has spoken on the occasion.
After the introductory lines by Ragasudha Vinjamuri, Poet-Diplomat Abhay took to the session opening his talk with his Earth Anthem. He spoke of his astonishment of Kalidasa’s imagery beautifully woven in the poems. He underscored the importance of eco-poetry and the works of Kalidasa in the wake of the triple threat of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution. He highlighted Kalidasa’s vivid description of seasons, water bodies, mountains, flora, and fauna. He read a few excerpts that described the plight of different animals in the scorching sun. He then steers how Kalidasa’s poetry shows us the love of nature and also mentioned Maithili poet Vidyapati’s works and Rabindranath Tagore’s works.
Q&A at the end of his talk included interaction with journalists, writers, community leaders, and enthusiasts including Vijay Rana, Alok Agarwal, Madhava Turumella, Piyush Ojha, Manoj Talwar, Vedavyas Kasturi, Radhika Joshi, Sharad Jha, and Mukesh Karelia. Sushil Rapatwar has provided technical support to the event.
Abhay Kumar is SAARC Literary Award recipient and has authored 8-eyed Lord of Kathmandu, among other works. He edited 100 Great Indian Poems and CAPITALS, and his Earth Anthem has been translated into 50 languages
