We’re delighted to invite you to an evening with Mani Rao and Dharini Bhasker, as we celebrate the launch of Kalidasa: Selected Poetry & Drama and So That You Know. These two books bring together voices from different times — Kalidasa’s evergreen drama and poetry in new translation, and Mani Rao’s own reflections on language, love, and memory. Join us for readings and conversation on poetry, translation, and the enduring pulse of the written word.
Here are the details of the event:
Date: 30th October, Thursday
Time: 6:30 PM
Venue: Champaca Bookstore, Indiranagar
Since seats are limited, we recommend you sign up here!
About the Books:
Kalidasa: Selected Poetry and Drama: Mani Rao's Kalidasa brings together a range of poetry and drama by the greatest poet and dramatist of Sanskrit literature and revitalizes them for the modern reader.
Through her remarkable translations, Mani evokes in all its richness the vibrant montage of life in ancient India that Kalidasa depicted in his, one replete with kings-queens-jesters-sages and abounding in romantic intrigues and promises, misunderstandings and betrayals; where humanity and nature intertwine, and characters negotiate their freedom within the framework of duty and destiny.
So That You Know is the quintessential Mani Rao collection. These are poems that hold the playful exuberance of youth and the dazzling insight of age; that are at times measured, at times extravagant. What unites them is their commitment to mining deep into the recesses of the heart and offering moments of ecstatic revelation.
About the Speakers:
Mani Rao: Mani Rao is a poet, translator, and scholar. She is the author of twelve poetry collections and acclaimed translations of the Bhagavad Gita and Kalidasa. Her work explores intersections of literature, philosophy, and spirituality, and she frequently moderates and participates in literary discussions across the world.
Dharini Bhaskar: Born in Bombay, Dharini has at various points also called the UK, Greece, Delhi and Bangalore home. Her debut novel These, Our Bodies Possessed by Light (Hachette India) was shortlisted for the 2020 JCB Prize for Literature, Tata Literature Live (First Book: Fiction), and the Valley of Words book awards.