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Saturday, Feb 16, 2008
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New Delhi

Hungarian poetry for Hindi readers

Kunal Diwan

NEW DELHI: A book of Hungarian poetry translated into Hindi by journalist Girdhar Rathi will be released at the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre here this coming Monday.

Titled “Das Adhunik Hangari Kavi” (Ten Modern Hungarian Poets), the book has been brought out in collaboration with India International Centre and will be released by distinguished Hindi writer Krishna Sobti.

A variety

Mr. Rathi’s choice of poems includes a variety of oeuvres -- classical harmony stressing structure and disciplined form, poetry from Transylvania, poems signifying modernity and even pieces from the post-World War II period.

The Hungarian language flourished in Transylvania in the 17th Century through memoirs and autobiographies. The three Transylvanian poets included in the collection belong to the Forras-books generation -- Sandor Kanyadi, Aladar Laszloffy and Gizella Hervay.

From the poems

Established by Agnes Nemes Nagy and Janos Pilinszky, the “Ujhold” (new moon) movement symbolised values, freedom and sovereignty and is represented in the compilation through several notable poems. The most important aspect of Pilinszky’s poetry is his portrayal of the experience gathered in concentration camps as a prisoner-of-war in Germany.

Another prominent poet who finds a place in the book is Sandor Weores who burst on the literary scene by excelling at all forms of Hungarian poetry.

A journalist by profession, Mr. Rathi was the editor of Samkaleen Bharatiya Sahitya from 1991-2003. He has written for several leading publications and published three collections of poems in Hindi. Other achievements include a travelogue on China, two books of essays and criticism and several translated works.

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