Marathi writer and translator Megha Pansare has been honoured with the international Sergei Esenin Award 2019 at the Festival of Russian Language & Literature Festival held in Thiruvananthapuram. The award, instituted in memory of 20th century Russian poet Sergei Esenin, is jointly presented by the Moscow State Esenin Museum, Russian Federation and the Russian Cultural Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (under the Cultural Department of the Russian Embassy in New Delhi). Pansare was honoured for her contribution in popularising Russian literature in India.
Megha Pansare is Head of Department, Foreign Languages and Assistant Professor of Russian at Kohlapur’s Shivaji University. Author of a number of articles and books on Russia and Russian culture, she has also published translations of Russian literature into Marathi. She has also been an active part of Maharashtra’s progressive circle and has has often spoken about the importance of being reminded of the region’s radical history.
In her acceptance speech, the author-translator stressed on role of literature in uniting people. She said that she considered this award as an appreciation for the work she has been doing for Russian language and culture in Maharashtra, for the past 30 years. Pansare said, “Teaching and translating Russian language & literature introduce the distant culture of Russia to the Marathi reader”, making it possible for be familiar with other languages and cultures, and eventually value multilingualism and multiculturalism in society. She presented the Marathi translation of Sergei Esenin’s famous poem “Letter to Mother” and also expressed her wish to translate and publish a collection of Esenin’s poems in Marathi soon.
The gathering at Thiruvananthapuram’s Russian Cultural Centre was attended the Kerala Legislative Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan, the city’s mayor K Sreekumar, Chief Secretary of State Tom Jose and the chief representative of the “Rossotrudnichestvo”, the autonomous Russian federal government agency of the Russian government.
