Kerala has always lured non-natives with its scenic beauty and culture. Bihar-native Anamika Anu, who has been living in Thiruvananthapuram for the past 15 years, is exploring her love for God’s Own Country through Hindi poems. Her debut collection titled Injikari has 94 Hindi poems.
Anamika is a research scholar. Her short and long poems focus on various subjects like culture, food, nature, society, rationalism, travel and mythology. Her second book, Kerala Se Anamika, was released last month. Apart from the geography and culture of the state, Anamika also fell in love with poetry works of veteran Malayalam poets like Ayyappa Panicker, Kamala Das and others.
Anamika is also the winner of the Bharat Bhushan Aggarwal Award, 2020. “My husband got posted at the Air India centre in Kerala two decades ago. I was mesmerized by the state’s rich culture, heritage and language. This is what drove me to write about my second home in my mother tongue, Hindi. I know the basics of Malayalam. I have translated works of 11 prominent Malayalam poets including K Satchidanandan and Meera Nair for my second book,” she says.
Anamika named her first book Injikari as the ginger curry is an unavoidable element at every Kerala sadya. “Injikari is a mix of every flavour - sour, salt, sweet and spice. It has a perfect balance. Likewise, when I write about Kerala in Hindi, I am enhancing its elements without killing the aesthetics of the state,” adds Anamika.
Among the poems, two of her favourite poems in Injikari is Ma Akeli Pad Gayi, which was her first poem and Pravasi Priy which she wrote after witnessing the difficulties faced by migrants during the pandemic.
The young poet who is active in poetry since 2019 is now working on her third book which is a collection of love letters written by renowned poets and writers from the country. “I am also translating selected 55 poems of poet K Sachidanandan into Hindi from English translations. The translations to Hindi from Malayalam is a delicate process, I have to make sure the meanings are not lost,” she adds.