Kannada poet Mamta G Sagar receives an international literary award

Kannada poet, Mamta Ji Sagar was honored with the World Literary Prize for her contribution to literature by the World Organization of Writers (WOW) in April 2024. Mamta Ji Sagar, besides being a Kannada poet, was also a famous playwright and academician.

• Mamta ji Sagar is the facilitator of Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology. According to Mamta Sagar, this process started eight months ago. When WOW first contacted me to apply for the award.

Key Ceremony at WOW Abuja:

• The event was held as a part of the first Congress of the World Organization of Authors in Abuja, Nigeria.
• The three-day congress was held at the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Writers Village. Which was a community started in 1981 by the famous Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe.
• The programme was a collaboration between ANA and the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA).

About Mamta Ji Sagar:

• Mamta is currently a facilitator at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• Mamta studied at the University of Hyderabad and Bangalore University before joining Srishti Manipal in 2016.
• Mamta's poems and research work have received international recognition. Her works have been translated into various Indian and foreign languages.

Awards and honors received by Mamta:

• In recent years, Mamta ji Sagar has been honoured with many awards in the country and abroad. These mainly include the following:
  • British Center for Literary Translation
  • University of East Anglia
  • Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship (2015)
  • Sanchi Honnamma Poetry Appreciation in UK (2019)
  • Bhasha Bharati Translation Award (2019).

Main compilation of Mamta Ji Sagar:

• Mamta has prepared several poetry collections in recent years, which mainly include the following:
  • 'Kada Navilina Hejje' (published in 1992) is the first collection of Mamta Ji Sagar.
  • "Footsteps of the Wild Peacock" (1992)
  • 'Nadiya Neerina Teva' (1999)
  • "Hide and Seek" (2014).
• Mamata's notable works also include the children's musical play "Chukki Chukki Chandakki" (1999) and the translation of the Kannada play "Maye Bhara Manave Bhara" as "The Swing of Desire" (2004).
• This anthology was published at a time when most women's poetry was about the sexualization of the body.
• Mamata's poetry can be found on the walls of the Cubbon Park metro station. Mamta believes that 'poetry should walk on the streets. Not that it should be read in an air-conditioned room.

Organizing Poetry Reading: 

• In recent years, Mamata's focus has been on performance poetry. Kavya Sanje, a community of poets founded by him, has been hosting poetry reading events in public spaces in Bengaluru and online with local, national and international poets.
• In 2018, Mamata produced a set of poetry films, 'Interversion 1', 'Interversion 2' and 'Interversion 3', featuring verses from her works.
• Mamta, herself a translator, says increased translations will help boost readers and followers of Indian language poetry. Mamta urges emerging writers to experiment with their languages.
• She is currently collaborating with the poets of Kavya Sanje to bring out an anthology of her poems. It is likely to be published soon.

About WOW World Literary Prize:

• Established by WOW as a successor to the "Golden LIFFT" literary award.
• WOW aims to encourage writers who have made significant contributions to world literature.
• Co-founded by the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, the Pan-African Association of Writers and the LIFFT Foundation to promote cultural projects of Eurasian Peoples.
• The award accepts works in Russian, English, Spanish and Arabic with their translations.