An inexhaustible and illuminating book about an essential Indian poet of international significance. Wonderfully enjoyable! – DALJIT NAGRA MBE, FRSL, CHAIR OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE, PROFESSOR OF CREATIVE WRITING, BRUNEL UNIVERSITY, LONDON
How does one write about a father who is an iconic figure in Indian poetry, a mentor to the next generation, and a person who showered love on a daughter he had named ‘Kavita’– the epitome of poetry? Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca treads this
complex ground with wisdom and sophistication as she creates a commemorative volume for Nissim Ezekiel’s hundredth birth anniversary in 2024. Blending her personal narrative with the
public fame of her father, Kavita presents a collection of memoirs, tributes, interviews, and poetry– interspersed with photographs – that brilliantly offers archival material as well as a deeply moving story of genius and vulnerability. The recollections of poets such as Adil Jussawala, Gieve Patel and Sujatha Mathai carry the history of Indian poetry. And, when Nissim and Kavita Ezekiel’s poems become interwoven as a fabric of togetherness, the colours are redolent with grace. – PROF. MALASHRI LAL (RETD, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI), CONVENER, ENGLISH ADVISORY BOARD, SAHITYA AKADEMI (INDIA’S ACADEMY OF LITERATURE)
With every word soaked in the daughter’s love for her father, Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca’s commemorative volume could have dwindled into a sentimental bogie trudging under the weight of soggy narration, loaded with hyperbole. But, instead, the restraint and the matter-of-fact style create a heartwarming intensity in this personal memoir of a father who came to be known as the doyen of Indian poetry in English. Kavita’s deep connection with him unfolds itself in her poems as a rich poetic legacy left by Nissim Ezekiel. Yet, they are both beautifully ‘alone together’ in the book” – Sukrita Paul Kumar, poet & Editor of Indian Literature, the official journal of the Sahitya Akademi, India’s national academy of literature
“Full of warm memories and thoughtful insights, this is a book to dip into and to mull over, one in which you catch glimpses of Nissim Ezekiel in many roles: the father, the mentor, the teacher and always, inescapably, the poet” – Dr. Anna Kurian, Professor, University of Hyderabad, India
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