Poets who took Indian poetry to the next level

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful - Rita Frances Dove

Poetry is to literature what soul is to the body. The rhythmic verses swell with the deepest emotions of the poet and settle in the heart of the readers. Belonging to the rich history of Indian literature, these poets bring alive the magic of poetry every time we revisit their oeuvre. Even though the new avatar of short poetry forms has become the most favoured style, the magic of literary verses woven by these authors will never fade away. On World Poetry Day, read poems by these 10 authors and revisit the surrealism created by their magical words.

The master of all poetry genres, Sri Aurobinndo Ghosh’s poems touch upon the metaphysical themes in the most subtle manner. These are not only moving but inspiring too.

The Sahitya Akademi Award winner, Nissim Ezekiel’s poems are known for well crafted diction in dealing with mundane themes.

Also known as ‘Kamala Suraiya’, her writings depicted an honest treatment of female sexuality and were infused with power. Her works are noted for fiery poems and explicit autobiography. Considered as an iconoclast in her times, she wrote chiefly about love, its betrayal and the consequent anguish.

One of the best-known poets in India, AK Mehrotra’s poems are ironical depictions of modern reality with a touch of surrealism. His use of conversational tone, transparent imagery and geographical description makes him popular.

One of the most popular names in the Indian poetry literature, Jayanta Mahapatra won Sahitya Akademi Award for his well-known long poem ‘Relationship’. He was also a part of the trio of poets who laid the foundations of modern Indian English Poetry.

This Indian scholar and poet argued strongly for giving local and non-local dialects their due. Padma Shri AK Ramanujan was an Indo-American writer too. His works were technically perfect and reflected his views on the cultures and conventions of the east and the west without any glorification.

A natural linguist, Toru Dutt, who wrote in English and French is also known as the Keats of Indo-English literature. Though she died at a very young age, but not before she left a deep mark in English literature.

Noted for his ability to transform ordinary events into heart stirring poems, Gieve Patel depicts contemporary reality with pungent humor and a crude sense of irony. His poems deal with issues of the downtrodden and their search for identity.

Mostly known for his work with Chattisgarhi tribals Padma Shri Habib Tanvir started writing poetry using the pen name takhalluz.

Popularly known as the ‘Nightingale of India’, Sarojini Naidu was proficient in Urdu, Telugu, English, Bengali and Persian. The beautiful poems written by her could also be sung. She drew her inspiration from nature and daily life surroundings and her poetry echoed with the ethos of her patriotism.