Description

An initiative of Red River and Indian Novels Collective

Hummingbirds are distinguished by their dazzling colours, diminutive size, and speedy flight, the only birds that can fly backwards, upside down, sideways, and hover in mid-air. Sighting a hummingbird also signals that challenging times are over and healing can begin. These little birds are also a sign of hope and spiritual significance. They are also critically endangered species, facing the prospect of extinction due to climate change.

Since publishing poetry is considered perhaps the most adventurous or perilous creative journey, curating a poetry series in the name of hummingbirds literally and metaphorically affirms our faith in the commitment and belief in the power of small to achieve the impossible.

Inspired by Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan activist and the first woman Nobel Peace Prize winner from Africa, who pioneered Green Belt Movement, and a great believer in the power of hummingbirds, we believe that our Hummingbirds Chapbook Series, a joint initiative of Red River and Indian Novels Collective, will energise poets and poetry lovers to come together and help create a republic of imagination.

Note from the author: “I have begun translating the verses of Sant Eknath because I feel that his poetry reflects an earthiness and an inclusive egalitarian approach towards society. He was the first mystic poet who chose to compose over three hundred verses in the folk performance form of the bharood.”

Sant Eknath (1533 – 1599) was born in the important trading town of Paithan and, at an early age, gained mastery over the shastras, Upanishads, puranas and other religious texts. He then sought out Janardan Swami (of Daulatabad/Devgiri) as his spiritual guru and was for all his life deeply influenced by and devoted to him to the extent that Eknath never referred to himself in his writings as Eknath or Eka but always addressed himself as ‘Eka Janardan’ in his verses to suggest that they were but one entity. Scholars believe that Janardan was himself the disciple of a sufi saint (Chand Bodhale) and his teachings strengthened the already existing egalitarian intellectual framework of Eknath.

Anjali Purohit is a painter, writer, poet, translator and curator. She is the author of two books, Ragi Ragini: Chronicles from Aji’s Kitchen (Yoda Press, 2012) and Go Talk to the River: The Ovis of Bahinabai Choudhari (Yoda Press, 2019). She is the founder and curator of The Cappuccino Adda (formerly the Cappuccino Readings), an initiative working to foster a literary café culture in Mumbai and to contribute towards building a vibrant writers’ community.