Description
At the edge of the sea, where the waves of Konark whisper their timeless hymns to the sun-temple stones, poetry gathers its luminous voices. River of Songs: The Chandrabhaga Poetry Anthology flows from that sacred confluence—of sea and song, of wind and word—carrying within it the living pulse of the Chandrabhaga Poetry Festival. Founded in the radiant vision of Jayanta Mahapatra, the legendary poet of Odisha, the festival has become a pilgrimage of language and light. From Odia, Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, and English to Tamil, Assamese, Marathi, Adivasi languages, and beyond — to all the tongues that shape our living imagination. This volume gathers voices as resonant as the many currents of our rivers. Together, they sing of rivers that remember, rains that cleanse, and rainbows that reconcile sky with earth’s waiting heart.
Chandrabhaga is a river, a metaphor for the infinite horizon of humanity. Here the Sun God of Konarka plays hide and seek with chaayaa, its own wandering shadow. Flowers bloom in early winter, and poetry flows in from all dimensions. And when it meets the sky, it becomes a festival. — Dr Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, eminent linguist and author
Curated with deep linguistic sensitivity, River of Songs gathers diverse tributaries into a formidable river that bridges generations and geographies. Reflecting the expansive poetic vision of Jayanta Mahapatra and the living spirit of the Chandrabhaga Poetry Festival, the anthology also advances a progressive imagination through poems on intimate subjects such as breastfeeding, opening a wider horizon of gender sensitivity in Indian poetry. — Anju Makhija, Sahitya Akademi Award–winning poet, translator and playwright
No words can truly comfort us, but they can bring us together and summon our shared memories of Jayanta Mahapatra — a visionary whose deep, reflective poetry and lifelong commitment to his land have touched our lives in countless ways. Seventy-five voices, traversing a wide range of Indian languages, merge into a vibrant outpouring in this richly textured and luminous volume, River of Songs. — Mani Rao, poet and translator
River of Songs, touching the opposing shores of the mind and gently reconciling their contraries, reminds us that we are not utterly alone in this universe. As Jayantada put it, ‘undoubtedly it is poetry that unites us. It is the poets who will not keep us away from one another, who will not separate us.’ This is the feeling — wavelike — that washes over me each time I read these poems: a melodic and memorable anthology. — Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, poet, writer and translator
Ashwani Kumar is a poet, political scientist, and professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. He lives in Mumbai and Mukteshwar.
Chandrabhanu Pattanayak, Director, Institute of Knowledge Societies (IKS), is a Commonwealth scholar from McGill University, with more than 150 scholarly publications and books and more than 100 educational films and documentaries to his credit. He works very closely with UNESCO, Paris, and is the co-chair of the consultative committee on Internet4Trust and T20/G20.
Sanjogita Mishra is a poet who writes in Hindi. She is also a theatre artist who has acted in films. Her first collection of poems is titled Chand Alfaaz, Chand Tasveerein. She has also translated many Odia Poems into English.
Saroj is an activist poet and edits Anwesha. He has three collections of poems and a book of essays. Currently, he is involved in the movement to preserve indigenous seeds in Odisha.
