Jibanananda Festival begins in East London Sunday

Jibanananda Festival that celebrates mainly the works of major Bengali poet of 20th Century in Indian sub-continent Jibanananda Das will be held at the Rich Mix Theater in East London for the fourth year on February 19.

"The focal point of the festival is to promote the infinite rich tradition of Bengali literature, by presenting the timeless literature of poet Jibanananda, known as 'Ruposhi Banglar Kobi' (Poet of the beautiful Bengal), on the world stage," said poet Ahmed Kaysher, the director of Saudha.

"Saudha has been organizing this event for the last two years and the literature circles of Britain have made a huge response to this festival," he added.

"Jeebananda Das is an unforgettable name not only in Bengali poetry after Rabindranath, but also in the world of world poetry. Through this event, we want to introduce a completely new poet to the poetry lovers of the past," he told BSS.

Poet John Farndon, BBC Slam Poetry Champion poet David Lee Morgan, poet and translator Stephen Watts, poet and prose writer Sri Ganguly will talk about the possibility of various constraction-deconstructions of Jibanananda's poetry in the 21st century, said a release here.

German, Uzbek and Polish translations of Jibanananda's poems will be read by poet Amy Nelson Smith, poet Khasiat Rastamova and poet Aleksandra Smerenchanska respectively.

Oriya and Urdu translations will be read by poet Mona Das and artist Samia Malik respectively.

Flamenco dancer Mercedes Avila Caballero will perform on stage as Argentinian poet Gaby Sambucetti will recite the poems in Spanish.

Poet Eric Shilander, Poppy Shahnaz, Dr. Zaki Rezwana Anwar, Poet Sarwar E Alam, Councilor Jasmin Chowdhury, Poet Tanzina Noor-e Siddique, Soma Das, Sanjay Das and Prapa Rezwana Anwar will read from Jibanananda's poems with flute-player Mayukhjit Chakraborty's music composition and performance in the background, the release added.

Indian classical dancers Aritri Kundu, Manideepa Sheel, Esha Chakraborty Bhatracharya and Ishita Sinha will also perform on the occasion.

Saudha Director Ahmed Kaysher said that the festival is supported by the South Asian Paper Grant and the Radharaman Society.