Open Space – Talking Poetry launched Seeking The Beloved, Sufi poetry by Shah Abdul Latif, translated by Anju Makhija and Hari Dilgir in September, 2006

Anju Makhija, theatre personality Tom Alter and poet Priya Sarukkai Chabria read selections from the book. The readings were followed by an informal interaction, with some impromptu readings by another Sindhi poet.

Through the poems, the poets talked about translation, about the essence and philosophy of Sufi poetry. The launch was attended by more than 30 people, including students of theatre, and poetry enthusiasts.

ANJU MAKHIJA

Anju Makhija is a poet, playwright and translator. Her works include a book of poems, View from the Web, All Together, a multi-media production that won an award at the National Educational Film Festival, California (’86). She has co-translated an anthology of partition poetry, Freedom & Fissures. Her plays include If Wishes Were Horses, The Last Train and Unspoken Dialogs.

She has won several awards including 1st prize in the All India Poetry Competition, organized by the British Council and the Poetry Society of India (’95). She also won the BBC World Poetry Award (’02).

She is currently editing an Anthology of Women’s Poetry for the Sahitya Academy. 

HARI DILGIR 

Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award, Hari Dilgir was an eminent Sindhi poet and scholar. He edited many anthologies of poetry and received several literary awards like Gaurav Puruskar, Priyadarshini Award and Indusland Award for lifetime contribution to Sindhi language.  

TOM ALTER

Tom Alter was born in Mussoorie, India, in 1950, where he studied at Woodstock School. His parents were American Presbyterian missionaries. He left India to study at Yale University, returning to the country of his birth to join the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune, from where he graduated, with a gold medal, in 1974. He has since acted in over 250 Hindi films and 50 TV serials, as well as in several stage productions. He writes and records commentaries, comperes and hosts live shows, was a sports journalist, and has written two books - The Best in the World - India's Ten Best World Cup Matches, which he co-authored with Ayaz Memon, and Rerun at Rialto, a novel. Tom Alter recently published The Longest Race.