Reading and Creative Writing are my passions from a very young age. After spending many years of teaching as my profession, finally I am devoting myself to my passions - Poetry, Singing, and Art. I also write short stories, long stories, memoirs, cooking diary...and work on translations of poems from my home-language, Bengali, a regional language in India.
My early years were spent in India, and some later years in the Middle East - finally settled in Toronto, Canada. Writing comes first, but I also learn, practise and enjoy music and art. I am an avid reader from my early childhood - read both classic and modern writers - from Iliad, Odyssey and Shakespeare to P.G. Wodehouse, to Elena Ferrante and Kazuo Ishiguro. The book which is always on my desk is Gitanjali, the collection of spiritual songs by Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel-laureate Poet of India.
Poetry is an expression of thoughts, feelings and reflections. Some of my unique life-experiences get expressed in my poems and short stories. I attempt to express my reflections and thoughts with creativity and depth - poetic flow and elegance are my goals. At present I am working on a memoir which covers my family's history and my life in three different countries with rich and varied cultures.
I write equally in two languages - in English, and in Bengali, which is a regional language in the eastern part of India. I have translated a few famous Bengali poems, mainly by Rabindranath Tagore and Jibanananda Das, in English. My book of translation is available on amazon, being published in August, 2023. In the beginning of 2023, I also wrote a short novel in Bengali, called "Pahar Amay Dake" - it would be "Mountains are calling me" in English. This book has been published in Kolkata, India, by Karukatha Publishers, on my birthday in 2023.
I create videos with my own poems and poems by famous writers, and also create audio-books from English and Bengali literature... created my own channel on You Tube, and uploaded a few songs, rendered by myself.
Channel URL for You Tube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCSzp2aCxzDkxInuHkVU37g
I work on a few forms of rare art - eggshell decorations, copper-tooling and batik are some of them.
Here are the links to my translations of Rabindranath Tagore's Poems:
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/finally_saved_part_1_-_translation_from_rabindranath_tagore_1403729 (Finally Saved - Part 1)
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/finally_saved_part_2_-_translation_from_rabindranath_tagore_________________1403737 (Fianlly Saved - Part 2)
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/finally_saved_part_3_-_translation_from_rabindranath_tagore__1403738 (Fianally Saved - Part 3)
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/freed_from_my_shackles_-_translation_from_tagore_1396721 (Freed From My Shacles)
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/_deception_part_1_translation_from_tagore_1346222 (Deception - Part 1)
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/deception_part_2_-_translation_from_tagore_1346223 (Deception - Part 2)
(Banalata Sen)
(Invention Of Shoes - Part 1)
(Invention Of Shoes - Part 2)
(Sleeping Beauty)
(An Ordinary Girl)
Below is a link to my YOU TUBE Channel. You may subscribe to this channel, where I post recitation of my poems, poems from Rabindranath Tagore, and also songs (rendered by myself) composed by Tagore. Please click on my picture at the bottom of the video - you will find my channel. Channel URL is at the bottom of this post.
Channel URL for You Tube
https://www.youtube.com/@raymalabika
handle: @raymalabika
This link will take you to my channel on YOU TUBE
https://youtube.com/user/raymalabika