World Poetry Day 2023: The 5 Indian English Poets whose Poetry Inspires Us Even Today

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Indian literature exists from ancient times and its epics have stood the test of time. The Characteristic attribute that sets indian literature apart from the rest is its poetic diversity. Indian writers have been writing in English since a long time, and they are recognized the world over for their poetic skills and talent. Here is a list of those writers whose legacy has inspired the modern Indian writers and influenced a large number of urbane Indians to take a serious look at Indian English poetry. We need to remember them on the World Poetry day which is today, 21 March 2023.

1.Toru Dutt

Toru Dutt or Tarulatha Dutt was an Indian poet born in the Bengal province in 1856 and she was born to a literary lineage. Her poems show her gripping curiosity about the natural world, excellent narrative abilities, her mythological leanings, and the fundamental reflections about human relationships. She also proved her mettle as a translator which really required mastery of two languages in their depth. Her sixteen poems were published posthumously and they were an enlightening medley of translations and original poetry. A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields (1876) and Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan (1882, published posthumously) were two of her famous works that touched the soul of her readers.

2. Mirabai

Meerabai was a highly respected saint who took an active part in Bhakti Movement in the sixteenth century. Her love for Lord Krishna was phenomenal and inspired her to write poems on him. These poems reflect the different shades of the love that a saint can feel towards her deity, Lord Krishna. Her poems point at the depth and profundity of her experiences with the world, her detachment, and the true love which she so effortlessly worded and felt towards Krishna. Her songs have a lyrical feel about them and are sung in concerts by musicians as well. Her songs titled Mira bhajans are tear jerkers which never fail to touch the innermost emotions of a reader.

3. Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo whose full name was Aurobindo Ghose, had his own philosophy of divine life on earth. He founded an ashram at Pondicherry. His epic poem Savitri was his masterpiece which most of the ordinary poets could not fathom due to their epic content. He evolved into a yogi and a guru later during his life. He had grown in popularity due to his active participation in freedom struggle. His pathbreaking spiritual concept of Integral yoga was all about elevating the level of consciousness and let people get an actual experience of self realization. Other than Savitri he wrote Life divine, and the synthesis of Yoga.

4. Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore was an iconic trail blazer in the history of indian cultural awakening. He donned several roles at a time, that of a poet, a philosopher, musician, writer, and an educationist. Gitanjali, his collection of poems was won the Nobel Prize in 1913. He was also fondly addressed as Gurudev, Kabiguru and so on. His songs came to be called Ravindrasangeeth. It is a different genre of music that has enthralled hardcore Hindustani musical enthusiasts all over. Two of Rabindra Sangeeth songs were chosen to be the The national anthems for India and Bangladesh. The versatile writer that he was, he wrote, other than poems, some novels, short stories, and essays. His themes were about political and personal experiences and in his poems we can see that he chose mostly political and personal themes, to write on.

5.Nissim Ezekiel

Nissim Ezekiel was an advertising copywriter, art critic, editor and English professor by his occupation. But by his preoccupation he was a poet with an ability to write on diverse themes. Nissim Ezekiel's poems were the royal link between two poetic eras, that of the pre independence and the post-independence. The themes he was particularly attached to were about detachment, independence and individuality, cultural roots. He was a celebrated and versatile Indo Angican poet His ideas were contemporary, and urbane, and his ideas revolved round the concepts of human relationship. Love and spirituality. He had this knack to ceaselessly experiment with craft and the form of his poetry.