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Hindi poet connects cultures


J.P. Antonacci
March 1, 2010

While the launch of a new trilingual poetry


collection – in Hindi, English and Urdu – by
noted Indo-Canadian poet Meena Chopra seems
like reason enough to draw a crowd to
Mississauga’s Central Library Sunday afternoon,
something more fundamental convinced some
60 people to skip the first period of the biggest
hockey game in decades.
In what staff believed was the first multilingual
book launch at a Mississauga library, Chopra
showcased poetry and paintings that reflect her
Indian heritage and Canadian experience, in an
approach Indian Consul M.P. Singh called
“unselfconsciously multicultural.”
Mississauga-Brampton South MP Navdeep Bains
acknowledged how anxious everyone, himself Meena Chopra. Meena Chopra, poet and artist held a reading and
included, was to watch Canada take on the book launch at Mississauga Central Library Sunday afternoon. Photo
by Peter McCusker
United States, but noted that the presence of
so many writers, artists and well-wishers from
the Hindi community and beyond was a sign of
support for the cross-cultural connections
Chopra advocates.
“I consider Meena not only a poet and an artist, but a bridge-builder,” said Bains of Chopra, who came to
Canada in 2004 from her native Nainital, in northern India.
“She does not recognize any borders – her experiences are universal,” agreed Suman K. Ghai, a longtime friend
and co-founder of the Hindi Writers Guild. Ghai translated Chopra’s poems into English for her second collection,
subah kaa suuraj ab mera nahii.n hai (Adieu to the Dawn), which was released on Sunday.
As well known in art circles for her painting as her poetry – she often combines the two – Chopra’s work focuses
on the natural and abstractly emotional, showcasing a humanistic philosophy she also applies to her personal
life.
“My husband (Bhupindar Virdi) is a Sikh, I’m a Punjabi Hindu. But we don’t follow (religions); we are art people,
so art is the religion,” explained Chopra, who, with Virdi, operates Cross Currents, a non-for-profit initiative that
promotes multiculturalism through art.
Chopra’s latest collection – from which she read excerpts in Hindi and English – blends her two worlds. Though
in India she began writing poetry in English, she switched to Hindi after moving to Mississauga and finding
inspiration – and a link to her childhood – in the beauty of Canada.
“I used to see the setting sun every day (in Nainpal), which I was seeing here every day from my house (near
Bristol and Hwy 10). So that connectivity was there, and somehow the Hindi words started resonating with me,”
she said.
“I feel that sun from the east and sun from the west are merged for me. So that is the Canadian context – that
east and west merge. It’s all one sun, for everybody – all the time, it’s shining.”

This article is for personal use only courtesy of Mississauga.com - a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd.

http://www.mississauga.com/print/624934 02/03/2010

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