In Episode 15 of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, I interview my old friend and Amherst College associate professor Krupa Shandilya, whose co-translation of Mīrajī, a mid-twentieth century Urdu poet, was just published in The Paris Review. Mīrajī was the pen name of Sanā’ullah Dār, one of the founders of modern Urdu poetry. When he died in 1949 at the age of 37, he left behind more than a thousand poems in various genres that have yet to be translated into English -- a chunk of which Krupa and her co-translators are taking on.
Krupa is Associate Professor of Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies at Amherst College, and the author of the monograph "Intimate Relations: Social Reform and the Late Nineteenth Century South Asian Novel." She talks about what fascinated her about Mīrajī's poetry, the particular challenges of translating poetry, and the creativity to be found in working with partners. She also has a poetry-based writing prompt for listeners. If you feel inspired to write a poem based on her prompt, do send it to me at cuttingchaistories AT gmail DOT com. I love hearing from you!
In other news, the cart is open for my July session of creative writing classes for kids. In addition to classes for 7- to 8-year-olds and 9- to 10-year-olds, I have just added new classes for 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds. The theme for July is shifting your perspective. Register here: https://www.gumroad.com/cuttingchaistories
