July 2nd we commemorate the birth anniversary of Wisława Szymborska, the esteemed Polish poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. We have asked Polish Institute’s friends and cooperatives to share some thoughts on her timeless works. Writers, poets, academics and publishers expressed their opinions in their articles and posts.
Mr. Ashok Vajpeyi is an Indian Hindi-language poet, essayist, literary-cultural critic, apart from being a noted cultural and arts administrator, and a former civil servant. He was chairman, Lalit Kala Akademi India’s National Academy of Arts, Ministry of Culture, Govt of India, 2008–2011. A major cultural figure of India, with more than 14 books of poetry, 10 of criticism in Hindi, he visited Europe many times to attend conferences, deliver lectures and give readings. Mr. Ashok Vajpeyi also translated many poems by Wisława Szymborska into Hindi. We feel privileged and honored to be able to meet with him personally. We are happy to share what he told us about Wisława Szymborska:
I met Szymborska in Krakow many years ago, on the occasion of the launch of a bilingual book called “Koi Sheershak Nahin” containing Hindi translations of 75 of her poems done by me and Renata Czekalska. Inspite of her declining to attend public functions getting bored and exhausted after the Nobel, she did most graciously come to our function in the town hall. She was a beautiful woman wearing many layers of precious stones around her neck. She kept on looking in surprise when I read some of my Hindi versions of her poems. She spoke very little English. At the reception which followed, she told me: I did not understand a word when you read but I loved the music of your language. I thought this was a huge compliment. During the birth anniversary festival of Czeslaw Milosz, we met again when both of us read our poems in a session held in the gold covered Corpus Christi Church in Krakow. She recognized me. I think Szymborska was a world poet of the later part of the 20th century who candidly and many a time with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes explored the human predicament, the ironies and anxieties of our times in memorable poetry. A poetry where dignity, decency and survival come forth from confronting the messy and confusing reality.
Nidheesh Tyagi was born in 1969 in Jagdalpur in Bastgar, Chhatisgarh. He is a poet, storyteller and a translator. He worked with BBC Hindi as an editor and translated – among others – Ukrainian poetry into Hindi. Currently he is a journalist at Abir Pothi, India’s only digital art daily newspaper. Nidheesh Tyagi’s article about the poet:
Dr. Uday Shankar is a critic, editor and translator. He was born in 1982 in Mahmadpur village of Gaya district in Bihar. He studied at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His notable book is ‘Nayi Kahani Alochana’. He has edited three volumes of the works of critic Surendra Chaudhary, ‘Saadharan Ki Pratigya: Interview with Darkness’, ‘Itihas: Sanyog aur Saarthakta’ and ‘Hindi Kahani: Rachna aur Pariksha’, besides editing the Polish poetry compilation special issue of ‘Sadaneera’ magazine. His articles and translations have been published in various journals and magazines.
Currently, he is teaching at Purnia University. Apart from being publishing projects cooperative for several years now we are happy to call him great Friend of Polish Institute. Here is his reflection on Szymborska:
Back in 2022, I translated Wislawa Szymborska’s Nobel speech as part of an anthology of Polish poetry edited by us for ‘Sadanira’. Later, on my visit to Krakow, I dedicated this anthology to Szymborska at her grave, and I also lit a cigarette for her. It is her birthday today, and the puff of that cigarette is still fresh in my nostrils.
The link to the Hindi translation of Szymborska’s Nobel speech by Dr. Shankar: https://sadaneera.com/polish-poet-wislawa-szymborska-nobel-lecture-in-hindi-translation-uday-shankar/
Sabin Iqbal is a noted novelist, a literature festival curator at Mathrubhumi International Festival Of Letters, and a journalist with nearly 20 years of experience in national and international newspapers and magazines. His debut novel, The Cliffhangers (Aleph, 2019) was Shortlisted for The Best First Book Award at TATA Lit Fest and translated into Polish. The second, Shamal Days (HarperCollins, 2020) is a critically acclaimed cosmopolitan novel set in the Middle East. Thanks to kind support of Wisława Szymborska and Borderland – Pogranicze, Sejny we are working together on project Literary Trails in Poland. Here is his article on Wisława Szymborska:
