Bengaluru poet feted in Rajasthan

Karnataka’s Nagathihalli Ramesh was felicitated in Churu, Rajasthan, for his contribution to the fields of poetry, music, cinema and activism.

On August 6, he received the Bhartiya Veerta Ekta Rastriya Prashasti Puraskar, instituted by the Indian government and the government of Rajasthan.

His first Kannada book of 112 poems ‘Samudra Mattu Male’ has been translated to multiple languages and reprinted nine times since it came out in 2008. Some poems from the book are part of university textbooks, he told Metrolife.

“I feel fortunate that my poems got translated and reached a wider audience,” says Ramesh, a native of Mandya, who currently stays in J P Nagar.

His second poetry book titled ‘Bayala Kannadi Mattu Manada Minchu’ (Mirror in the Field and Lightning in the Heart) should be out in three months.

It will have about 100 poems, with themes spanning social causes, environmentalism, love and more.

When it comes to poetry, Ramesh considers Kannada poets Kuvempu, Bendre and Shivaram Karanth and Sitakant Mahapatra and Ramakanta Rath from Odisha as his inspiration.