India Currents Foundation hosted an online poetry festival on May 19, 2023, to celebrate the work of a diverse group of poets. The festival was sponsored in conjunction with the India Currents Stop the Hate campaign.
India Currents is one of the media outlets selected competitively by the State of California to be a torchbearer for its statewide Stop the Hate initiative. Our aim is to use art and culture to form alliances, create culturally relevant narratives, and support messaging that amplifies and celebrates our diversity.
India Currents produced NAVARASA in partnership with Jyoti Bachani of the Poetry of Diaspora in Silicon Valley. NAVARASA is inspired by the Nine-Rasas (flavors) – traditionally the dominant bhaav (emotions) in Indian arts. It’s used here as a metaphor for inclusiveness and diversity.
The event featured four poets from Silicon Valley alongside Bachani – Monica Korde, Navneet Galagali, Sandeep Kohli, and Vishal Vatnani. They read from their work in languages ranging from Hindi, Urdu, and English, to Sanskrit, with impromptu translations offered in English. Pragalbha Doshi, of Poetry of Diaspora in Silicon Valley and founder of YogaSaar, moderated.
After the event, poet Jyoti Bachani remarked, “The fight against the darkness and hate is to simply show up with love and be unafraid of it, and the poets definitely delivered on that. We appreciate the chance to go public with what has been a private pleasure and passion for many in my poetry incubator.”
Click Here to view the event
India Currents’ Stop The Hate campaign is made possible with funding from the California State Library (CSL) in partnership with the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA). The views expressed on this website and other materials produced by India Currents do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CSL, CAPIAA or the California government.
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