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, Hindi, Marathi and Urdu among other prominent languages. 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.
Jayanta Mahapatra was an Indian poet. He is the first Indian poet to win a Sahitya Akademi award for English poetry. He was the author of poems such as "Indian Summer" and "Hunger", which are regarded as classics in modern Indian English literature. He was awarded a Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour in India in 2009, but he returned the award in 2015 to protest against rising intolerance in India.
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.
Indian English poetry is the oldest form of Indian English literature. Henry Louis Vivian Derozio is considered the first poet in the lineage of Indian English poetry followed by Rabindranath Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, Sarojini Naidu, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, and Toru Dutt, among others.
Odia literature is literature written in the Odia language, mostly from the Indian state of Odisha. The modern Odia language is mostly formed from Tadbhava words with significant Sanskrit (Tatsama) influences, along with loanwords from Desaja, English, Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu), Persian, and Arabic. Its earliest written texts date from around 1000 CE. The earliest Odia newspaper was Utkala Deepika, first published on August 4, 1866.
Indian Literature is an English language literary journal published bi-monthly by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. It was first launched in 1957, and is currently edited by British-Indian journalist Antara Dev Sen.
Rana Nayar is a translator of poetry and short fiction from Punjabi to English. He has more than forty volumes of poetry and translation works to his credit. He is also a theatre artist and has participated in a number of major full-length productions. He won Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee prize for his English translation of the Punjabi devotional poetry of Saint Baba Farid.
A. J. Thomas is an Indian poet, translator and editor writing in English. He is best known as editor of Indian Literature, the bimonthly English journal of Sahitya Akademi which he edited till 2010.
Sitakant Mahapatra is an Indian poet and literary critic in Odia as well as English. He served in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from 1961 until he retired in 1995, and has held ex officio posts such as the Chairman of National Book Trust, New Delhi since then.
Kuber Nath Rai, also written as Kubernath Ray and Kuber Nath Ray, was a writer and scholar of Hindi literature and Sanskrit.
Bhubaneswar Behera was an engineer, writer and scholar from the Kalahandi district of Odisha.
Munawwar Rana was an Indian Urdu poet. He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2014 for his poem Shahdaba.
Kalahandia is a dialect of Odia spoken in the region of Kalahandi and Nuapada district of Odisha state in India. Local weekly Odia newspaper such as Arjji and Kalahandi Express publish articles in standard Odia Form and Kalahandia Odia Form.
Brajanath Ratha was an Indian poet who wrote in Odia. Brajanath Ratha is internationally recognised and is the recipient of many prestigious awards like the Odisha Sahitya Academy Award, Vishuba Award, Gokarnika Award, First Shudramuni Sahitya Award and Honoured by South Korea's Ambassador, from Global Cooperation Society International, Seol, Republic of Korea for Contribution in World welfare, Cooperation and Services.
Santanu Kumar Acharya is a National Sahitya Academy Award-winning Indian writer.
Kalahandi is a district of Odisha in India.
Mandakranta Sen is an Indian poet of Bengali language. She became the youngest ever winner of Ananda Puraskar in 1999 for her very first poetry book. In 2004, she was awarded Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award for poetry. She quit medical studies to become a full-time writer.
Hussain Rabi Gandhi was an Indian Odia writer of the late-twentieth century, a politician, a public intellectual and a cultural activist hailing from the Indian state of Odisha. Being a founder member of Biju Janata Dal, he served as the general secretary of the party from upon its formation in 1998 till 2005. In 1994 the title of Biplabi Loka Kabi was conferred upon him by the Mayor of Cuttack. He was also awarded with the title of Utkala Jyoti in 1996 by the then Deputy chief minister of Odisha, Basant Kumar Biswal on the behalf of Freedom Fighter's Organisation. Gandhi primarily wrote in Odia language and was bestowed with the Secular India Harmony Award in 1993 by the former President of India, Giani Zail Singh and with the Gangadhar Meher Kabita award in 2015 for his notable contributions to the field of Odia poetry. Hussain served as the President of Odisha Sahitya Akademi (2008–2010). He was famously known as the Gandhi of Korei and was regarded as a bridge between Western Odisha and Coastal Odisha. He also served as Lead Member of Smt. Nandini Satpathy Memorial Trust (SNSMT).
Parasmani Pradhan was an Indian Nepali-language writer, poet, translator, grammarian, educator and publisher. He published multiple Nepali language textbooks and played an important role in shaping the modern Nepali grammar. He was one of the key figures who contributed in establishing Nepali as one of the official language of India.
Abdul Rasheed is an Indian writer, poet, editor and translator from Karnataka. In 2004 he won Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award for lifetime achievement. He also a translator, blogger, columnist and radio personality.
