“A.K. Ramanujan (1929–1993) was a renowned Indian poet, scholar, translator, and linguist whose work bridged classical Indian traditions and modern literary expression. Born in Mysore to a scholarly family, he studied at the University of Mysore and later earned a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. Ramanujan’s scholarly expertise spanned five languages— English, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Sanskrit, through which he explored folklore, classical texts, and regional dialects. A professor at University of Chicago, he published ground-breaking translations— The Interior Landscape: Love Poems from a Classical Tamil Anthology and Speaking of Śiva and essays like “Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation.” His poetry, celebrated for its depth and lyrical subtlety, includes collections— The Striders, Relations, Selected Poems and Second Sight. Ramanujan was posthumously conferred the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999 for The Collected Poems (1997). His legacy endures through his contribution to Indian literature, translation studies, and cross-cultural scholarship.” — Abnish Singh Chauhan
Poetry: