Indian poetry and Indian literature in general, has a long history dating back to Vedic times. They were written in various Indian languages such as Vedic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit, Ancient Meitei, Modern Meitei, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Maithili, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese, Urdu, and Hindi. Poetry in foreign languages such as English also has a strong influence on Indian poetry. The poetry reflects diverse spiritual traditions within India. In particular, many Indian poets have been inspired by mystical experiences. Poetry is the oldest form of literature and has a rich written and oral tradition.
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the 8th Schedule to the Indian constitution as well as in English and Rajasthani language.
Nilmani Phookan was an Indian poet in the Assamese language and an academic. His work, replete with symbolism, is inspired by French symbolism and is representative of the genre in Assamese poetry. His notable works include Surya Henu Nami Ahe Ei Nodiyedi, Gulapi Jamur Lagna, and Kobita.
Subhro Bandopadhyay is an Indian poet who writes in Bengali. He won Sahitya Akademi's Yuva Puraskar, 2013 for his poetry book Bouddho Lekhomala O Onnyano Shraman.
Kamal Kumar Tanti is an Assamese poet from Assam, India.
Gadul Singh Lama, popularly known as Sanu Lama, is an Indian fiction writer, poet and translator of Nepali literature. An engineer by profession, he has published three short story anthologies and his stories have been translated into English, Hindi, Urdu, Assamese and Oriya languages. He is a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award (1993), apart from other awards such as Sikkim Bhanu Puraskar, Dr. Shova Kanti Thegim Smrithi Puraskar and Madan Byakhanmala Puraskar. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2005, for his contributions to literature.
Anil Chavda is a Gujarati language poet, writer and columnist from Gujarat, India.
Ashok Chavda, also known by his pen name Bedil, is a Gujarati poet, writer and critic from Gujarat, India. His anthology of poetry, Dalkhi Thi Saav Chhutan (2012), was awarded the Yuva Puraskar by the Sahitya Akademi in 2013. His collection of known writings include Pagla Talaavma (2003), Pagarav Talaavma (2012), Tu Kahu Ke Tame (2012), Pityo Ashko (2012), Shabdoday (2012), and Ghazalistan (2012), which is a translation of Urdu ghazals written by Indian and Pakistani poets. He is also a recipient of the Yuva Gaurav Award (2012) from the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, and the Dasi Jivan Award (2013–14) from the Government of Gujarat. He has appeared in several TV and radio programs on All India Radio and Doordarshan.
Paresh Narendra Kamat is an Indian Konkani poet from Marcaim, Goa.
Gayatribala Panda is an Indian poet, fiction writer and journalist from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
Mihir Kumar Jha, better known by his adopted pseudonym "Mihir Vatsa", is an Indian poet and writer. He won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2022 for his travel memoir Tales of Hazaribagh: An Intimate Exploration of Chhotanagpur Plateau. After Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, he is the second writer from Jharkhand to win the Yuva Puraskar award in English language. Tales of Hazaribagh received critical acclaim upon publication and was ranked among the top non-fiction books in 2021.
