Dubai: The Arabic edition of ‘100 Great Indian Poems’, selected and edited by Bihar-born poet-diplomat Abhay K. has been translated and published into Arabic by the Sharjah Institute for Heritage.
Titled ‘١٠٠ قصيدة هندية رائعة ‘ in Arabic, the book includes poems from 28 Indian languages spanning over three thousand years of Indian poetry.
Earlier it has been translated and published into Italian as 100 Grandi Poeme Indiane by Edizioni Efesto, Rome, into Spanish titled ‘Cien Grandes Poemas de la India’ by the National Autonomous University of Nuevo León, (UNAL) Monterrey, Mexico, into Portuguese, titled ‘100 Grandes Poemas da India’, published by the University of Sao Paulo and into Malagasy as ‘Tononkalo Indianana 100 Tsara Indrindra’ by Tsipika editions.
On the publication of the anthology, Abhay K. , who at present is India’s Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros, said that the Arabic edition of the book would act as a literary bridge between India and the Arab world.
Consul General of India to Dubai, said -“It is our privilege that Arabic edition of the book ‘100 Great Indian Poems’ by Abhay K, Ambassador of India to Madagascar and translated by Sharjah Institute for Heritage is being launched at the prestigious Sharjah International Book Fair, the biggest book fair in the World. Cultural and literary exchanges between the Arabic speaking countries and India goes back millennia and we remain committed to keep this special friendship flourishing.”
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The book has been translated and published into Arabic by Sharjah Institute for Heritage. Dr. Mini Abdelkader, Director of Content and Publishing Management of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, speaking on the occasion, said- “The Shariah Institute for Heritage aims to pay importance for cooperation with various cultural bodies worldwide. By publishing the Arabic version of 100 Great Indian Poems, the Institute will be able to introduce and propagate the strong Indian culture and tradition in Arab world. And also it will be really helpful for the cultural exchange among different people and communities living across the world”
100 Great Indian poems have also been translated into Irish, Nepali, French and Russian and are likely to be published soon.
Abhay K. is author of nine poetry collections including The Magic of Madagascar (L’Harmattan Paris, 2021), The Alphabets of Latin America (Bloomsbury India, 2020), and the editor of The Book of Bihari Literature (Harper Collins, 2022), The Bloomsbury Anthology of Great Indian Poems, CAPITALS, New Brazilian Poems and The Bloomsbury Book of Great Indian Love Poems. His poems have appeared in over 100 literary magazines including Poetry Salzburg Review, Asia Literary Review among others. His ‘Earth Anthem’ has been translated into over 120 languages. He has received SAARC Literary Award 2013 and was invited to record his poems at the Library of Congress, Washington DC in 2018. His forthcoming poetry collection is titled Monsoon. He has recently translated Kalidasa’s Meghaduta (Bloomsbury India, 2021) and Ritusamhara (Bloomsbury India, 2021) from Sanskrit, which have received KLF Poetry Book of the Year 2021-22 Award.
– global bihari bureau
