Pritish Nandy returns to poetry after 25 years

Mumbai, Jan 28 (IANS) Multifaceted Pritish Nandy, who has been a painter, journalist, politician, animal activist and film producer, returns to his first love poetry after 25 years and released his book of love poems 'Tonight, This Savage Rite'.

Nandy, who was one of the most celebrated names in poetry in 1970s and recipient of the Padma Shri and the E. M. Forster Literary Award, shares the credits in the book with another famous poet Kamala Das.

'What bonded Kamala and me together was that Indian poetry in English was just about finding its voice in the 1970s and she was one of the most original and unique voices of her time,' Nandy, 60, said here Thursday.

'It was very different from the academic poetry which one was exposed to and which many other were writing. Kamala's poetry was genuine, real, it was something that you could see, feel, experience. It was real poetry that's what held us together,' he added.

The launch was attended by celebrities like Katrina Kaif, Gulzar, Anupam Kher, Kiran Kher, Meghna Gulzar and Chetan Bhagat.