Of worlds within worlds FEATURED EVENTS

On World Poetry Day, this intimate conversation explores poetry as a way of inhabiting uncertainty. Anchored in the writings of poet and artist Gulammohammed Sheikh, the session reflects on migration, memory, and the multilingual literary traditions that shape literary cultures across South Asia.

The programme features a moderated conversation accompanied by readings of Sheikh’s poems in their original and translated forms. Poets K. Satchidanandan and Kanji Patel engage in dialogue on coastal histories, linguistic crossings, and translation as a practice of living within shifting cultural and historical contexts.

Through this exchange, the session considers how poetry moves across languages and geographies, creating spaces of ethical imagination and shared memory. The conversation concludes with an open discussion inviting audiences to reflect on poetry as a way of thinking, translating, and inhabiting time.

About the Speakers

Gulammohammed Sheikh is a poet, painter, and translator whose writings move across Gujarati and English, reflecting on migration, memory, and coexistence. His literary and artistic practices often intersect, creating layered narratives that draw from history, mythology, and lived experience.

K. Satchidanandan is a Malayalam poet, critic, and translator whose work reflects on political time, displacement, and cultural memory. A major voice in contemporary Indian poetry, his writings foreground translation as a mode of ethical and intellectual exchange.

Kanji Patel is a Gujarati poet and Indigenous peoples’ activist whose work engages with indigenous memory, language, and cultural histories, reflecting the multilingual traditions of western India.

While you’re here, explore KNMA’s ongoing exhibition
of worlds within worlds
Part of Kochi-Muziris Biennale.