14th edition of 'LaLitTana' brings together Indian Ocean poets
Jan 31, 2022
Antananarivo [Madagascar], January 31 : The 14th edition of the Embassy of India Antananarivo's literary event, 'LaLitTana', was held online on January 28, 2022, with the theme of 'Ocean'.
Poets from across the Indian Ocean countries namely Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Reunion (France), India, Kenya, Comoros, Maldives, Zanzibar, and Seychelles read their poems on this occasion.
During the literary event, Malagasy poet Andrea Lalatiana, known by her pen name 'Antigone', opened the reading with her two poems, one of which read, ''It arrived suddenly, like an unexpected guest without knocking at the door /he took everything with him /the brownish ocean, the cyclone."
Sukrita Paul Kumar, a poet, born and raised in Kenya recounted a poem about her journey from Mombasa to Bombay on a ship.
Other poets who read at the event included Indran Amirthanayagam from Sri Lanka, Umar Timol from Mauritius, Ibrahim Waheed 'Ogaru', from the Maldives, Malavika Vyawahare from Reunion (France), Sonnet Mondal from India, Packiyanathan Ahilan from Sri Lanka and Nassor Hilal Kharusi from Zanzibar.
The event's host and poet-diplomat Abhay K. closed the session by reading the poems of Mab Elhad, a poet from Comoros and Linda Hoareau, from Seychelles, along with his own poem 'Ocean' and the first few stanzas of his book-length poem 'Monsoon'.
