Sonnet Mondal to lead the Indian cultural delegation at Slovakia

Sonnet Mondal, one of the younger generation poets from India will be leading the Indian cultural delegation to one of the most celebrated poetry festivals of Europe- Ars Poetica in its 14th year. Ars Poetica Festival which hosts internationally acclaimed poets from all over the world has announced India as its theme country this year. The festival in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Slovakia as its major partner will be presenting an Indian Evening of Poetry and dance to the Slovak people.

Sonnet Mondal will be in multiple shades in this fest as compared to Struga poetry evenings, 2014 and Istanbul government’s Uskudar International poetry festival, 2015 where he just read his poetry. Mondal will present a 20 minutes poetry reading which will be read in Slovak translation following his reading. He would also present a dance and poetry performance with renowned Kathak Dancer Sangeeta Majumder. This performance will illustrate the beauty and serenity of two ancient traditions of India.

Mondal, who is known for his simple yet well framed and sensitive verses, is currently the editor of the Enchanting Verses Literary Review. His recent poems have appeared in Sahitya Academi’s flagship journal- Indian Literature, Asia literary Review and Fieldstone review published by University of Saskatchewan, Canada. In February 2016 Sonnet’s poems in Slovenian translation were aired on the Public Radio and Television Network of Slovenia. Most recently an interview of Sonnet in Croatian translation, comprising his views on his upcoming visit to Slovakia and poetry festivals as a whole was featured at a Croatian Cultural magazine published by the Cultural Centre at Zagreb, Croatia.

Apart from Sonnet, Professor Sukrita Paul Kumar and Usha Akella would present their poetry in Indian flavour during the days of the festival. Kathak Dancer Sangeeta Majumder’s performance will be the first of its kind in this festival.

Since its beginning in 2003, Ars Poetica has hosted more than 300 poets, including T.S. Eliot Prize winners, and US Poet Laureates. A festival anthology, consisting of the poems from participants in both the original and Slovak translations will be launched during this event.

The Ars Poetica festival, with the Ministry of Culture of Slovakia and the European Union as its major partners, will take place in November later this year. India is the second Asian country after China to be highlighted in this festival of Slovakia.