Indian poetry and Indian literature in general, has a long history dating back to Vedic times. They were written in various Indian languages such as Vedic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit, Ancient Meitei, Modern Meitei, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Maithili, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese, Urdu, and Hindi. Poetry in foreign languages such as English also has a strong influence on Indian poetry. The poetry reflects diverse spiritual traditions within India. In particular, many Indian poets have been inspired by mystical experiences. Poetry is the oldest form of literature and has a rich written and oral tradition.

Longest poems

Length (lines) Original title(s) Romanization Literal meaning(s) Original language(s) Place(s) of origin Author(s) Genre(s) Note(s)
1,00,000 couplets (2,00,000 lines) महाभारतम् Mahabharatam The Great Bharatam Sanskrit Indian subcontinent Vyasa Sanskrit literature, Hinduism [1]
24,000 couplets (48,000 lines) रामायणम् Ramayanam Rama’s Journey or Rama's progress Sanskrit Indian subcontinent Valmiki Sanskrit literature, Hinduism [2]
39,000 lines ꯈꯝꯕ ꯊꯣꯏꯕꯤ ꯁꯩꯔꯦꯡ Khamba Thoibi Sheireng Poem on Khamba and Thoibi Meitei language (officially called "Manipuri") Manipur Kingdom Hijam Anganghal Epic cycles of incarnations in Moirang, Meitei literature [3][4][5]
5,730 சிலப்பதிகாரம் Cilappatikaram the Tale of an Anklet Tamil language Tamilakam Ilango Adigal Sangam literature
4,861 மணிமேகலை Manimekalai jewelled belt, girdle of gems Tamil language Tamilakam Chithalai Chathanar Sangam literature, Buddhism
3,145 சீவக சிந்தாமணி Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi Jivaka, the Fabulous Gem Tamil language Tamilakam Tiruttakkatēvar Sangam literature, Jainism

Indian poetry awards

There are very few literary awards in India for poetry alone. The prestigious awards like Jnanapeeth, Sahitya Akademi and Kalidas Samman etc. are given away to writers of both prose and poetry. Most of the awards have gone to novelists. Few poets have received these awards.

Jnanpith Award

The following poets have won the Jnanpith award for their poetry: Firaq Gorakhpuri for his Gul-e-Naghma (1969), Viswanatha Satyanarayana for his Sreemadraamaayana Kalpavrukshamu in Telugu (1970), Amrita Pritam for her Kagaz te Kanvas (1981), Qurratulain Hyder for her Akhire Sab ke Humsafar, Singireddi Narayana Reddi for his Viswambhara in Telugu (1988), O. N. V. Kurup for his contribution to Malayalam poetry (2007) and Ravuri Bharadhwaja for his novel Paakuduraallu (Telugu) (2012).

Ananda Puraskar and Rabindra Puraskar

Ananda Bazar Patrika have instituted the annual Ananda Puraskar for Bengali literature. There is also Rabindra Puraskar. But these awards have usually gone to novelists. The rare poets to have won these awards include Premendra Mitra for Sagar Theke Phera (1957), Buddhadeb Basu for Swagato Biday (1974), Aruna Mitra for Suddhu Rater Shabda (1979), Joy Goswami for Ghumeichho (1990), Srijato for Uranto Sab Joker (2004) and Pinaki Thakur for Chumbaner Kshato (2012).

Sahitya Akademi Awards

Sahitya Akademi gives away annual prizes for both original works of poetry in the recognised Indian languages, as well as outstanding works of translation of Indian poetry. The award winners for English poetry include Jayanta Mahapatra for Relationship (1981), Nissim Ezekiel for Latter-Day Psalms (1983), Keki N. Daruwalla for The Keeper of the Dead (1984), Kamala Das for Collected Poems (1985), Shiv K. Kumar for Trapfalls in the Sky (1987), Dom Moraes for Serendip (1994), A. K. Ramanujan for Collected Poems (1999) and Jeet Thayil for These Errors are Correct (1912).[6] Prominent Akademi awardees for poetry in other Indian languages include H. S. Shivaprakash (Kannada) and K. Satchidanandan (Malayalam).[7] Other eminent Sahitya Akademi award-winning poets include Amrita Pritam (Punjabi) for Sunehe (1956), V. K. Gokak (Kannada) for Divya Prithvi (1960), G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam) for Viswadarshanam (1963), Kusumagraj (Marathi) for Natsamrat (1974), Kaifi Azmi (Urdu) for Awara Sajde (1975), Sunil Gangopadhyay (Bengali) for Sei Somoy (1984), Kanhaiyalal Sethia (Rajasthani) for Lilatamsa (1984), Hiren Bhattacharyya (Assamese) for Saichor Pathar Manuh (1992), Gunturu Seshendra Sarma (Telugu) for Kaala Rekha (1994), Srinivas Rath (Sanskrit) for Tadaiva Gaganam Shaivadhara (1999) and Pratibha Satpathy (Odia) for Tanmaya Dhuli (2001).

Eighteen poets have won Sahitya Akademi Awards in Telugu language.

Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Poetry Awards

On the occasion of its Golden Jubilee, Sahitya Akademi awarded the following prizes for outstanding works of poetry in translation from Indian languages.

The Golden Jubilee Prize for Life Time Achievement was won by Namdeo Dhasal, Ranjit Hoskote, Neelakshi Singh, Abdul Rashid and Sithara S.

All India Poetry Champions

The Poetry Society (India) gives annual awards solely for poetry. The following poets have won the annual prizes instituted by the Poetry Society (India) in collaboration with British Council and Ministry of Human Resource Development (India):

Western thinkers and poets interested in Indian poetry

In the 19th century, American Transcendentalist writers and many German Romantic writers became interested in Indian poetry, literature and thought. In the 20th century, few Western poets became interested in Indian thought and literature, and the interest of many of those was minor: T. S. Eliot studied Sanskrit at Harvard, but later lost interest. Buddhism brought Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder to India, but they became more interested in Tibetan and Japanese forms of the religion. Mexican poet and writer Octavio Paz developed a strong, lasting interest in Indian poetry after living in the country as part of the Mexican diplomatic mission (and as ambassador in the 1960s). Paz married an Indian woman, translated Sanskrit kavyas, and wrote extensively about India.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mahabharata | Definition, Story, History, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  2. ↑ "Ramayana | Summary, Characters, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  3. ↑ Das, Sisir Kumar (2005). A History of Indian Literature: 1911-1956, struggle for freedom : triumph and tragedy. Sahitya Akademi. p. 190. ISBN 978-81-7201-798-9. His epic Singel Indu was published in 1938 which was followed by his magnum opus Khamba Thoibi Sheireng (1940), a poem of 39000 lines, considered to be the 'national' epic of the Manipuris, written in the Pena Saisak style of folk ballads.
  4. ↑ Datta, Amaresh (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti. India: Sahitya Akademi. p. 1573. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0. His best work, Khamba Thoibi sheireng, in 39,000 lines on the story of 'Khamba and Thoibi' was started in 1939 and the composition was completed in 1940.
  5. ↑ Delhi, All India Radio (AIR), New (1975-08-31). AKASHVANI: Vol. XL. No. 35 ( 31 AUGUST, 1975 ). All India Radio (AIR),New Delhi. p. 1582.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners for English
  7. ↑ "Sahitya Akademi Award 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  8. ↑ Weinberger, Eliot, "Introduction", A Tale of Two Gardens: Poems from India, 1952-1995 by Octavio Paz, translated by Eliot Weinberger, New Directions Publishing, 1997, ISBN 978-0-8112-1349-3, retrieved via Google Books on January 19, 2009
  9. ↑ Kavishala. "Kavishala - The School of Poets".
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