Bhubaneswar: “Claiming the Sky”, a maiden collection of poems by Odisha’s acclaimed poet Ratnamala Swain, was released in presence of eminent litterateurs in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
The poems were written originally in Odia and translated into English by Purabi Das and Durga Prasad Panda. Speaking on the occasion, Ratnamala described her poems as the song of her soul – a spontaneous outpouring of creativity – and how these poems were taken shape from her experience as an acclaimed architect.
CP Surendran, former editor of Times of India, Mumbai and author of several critically acclaimed books, described poetry as a stillness – a moment’s clarity in the chaos of life. Like every true poet, Ratnamala has been able to understand the stillness and find a way out of the fog, he added.
Gaurahari Das, Sahitya Akademi award winning writer, quoted the lines from Ratnamala’s poetry to illustrate her sensitivity to various critical situations in life which triggered her creativity. Entrepreneur Jagadish Prasad Naik, who happens to be Ratnamala’s co-traveller in the professional life of 20 years, wondered how she found time to her creative urge in spite of professional busy schedule.
Manu Dash, a poet and publisher of Dhauli Books, spoke about the unique and universal nature of Ratnamala’s craft which she attributed to her grounding in architecture. Litterateurs Soubhagya Kumar Mishra and Bibhu Padhi also spoke.
The slim volume of 40 poems in the anthology covers broad subjects varying from love to life, relationships, death to rebirth that are characterised by Ratnamala’s powerful style and vivid imagery.
Translator Purabi Das said she was inspired by Ratnamala’s fine sensibility, deep philosophical and mature insights and simple yet powerful poetry which she described as a reflection of the poet’s persona.
Durga Prasad Panda described the process of translation is a beautiful failure because he felt that a translator
always had to wrestle with conveying the experience of the poet in a different medium.
Several poems from the collection were recited on the occasion by Tanaya Patnaik, Anwesha Panda, Sanhati Pani and Biyot Projna Tripathy. The event was anchored by Panchami Manoo Ukil, well-known educationist, translator and conservationist.
