Thali Katori brings together two words that celebrate difference, acknowledge the need for the sensitive appreciation of difference, the virtues of complementarity and the nourishment that poetry and the arts, as vitally as savoury and sweet dishes, dal and other vegetables, gives us, to keep us alive, to refuse, in Hugh MacDiarmid's phrase, 'a life deprived of its salt.'

Thali Katori is a feast of many flavours. Thali, literally means a plate on which a selection of many dishes is served. Katori signifies the bowls which accompany the thali. Together, the dishes are all different, but they complement each other, bringing out each other's flavours and unique identities.

Featuring poems and extracts from writers such as Sir Walter Scott, Vikram Seth and Hugh MacDiarmid, Thali Katori is a collection of poetry and prose that celebrates the difference and the diversity of the Indian sub-continent and Scotland. Through a diverse collection of poetry that explores the unique history of the relationship between India and Scotland and the ways in which it has affected the lives of many since, both Scottish and Indian writers alike are brought together in this anthology to create a feast of appreciation for the diversity of culture and identity of the two nations.

Thali Katori provides a platform for a multitude of voices... if one is searching for a synergy then it surely must be that of the experience of the Diaspora and the formation of attachments to the Motherland. - Amrit Khan

About the Author

Bashabi Fraser is a transnational writer and academic. She moves with ease between her two nations of India and the UK. Her publications include Scottish Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance: The Continuum of Ideas (2017), Confluence of Minds: The Rabindranath Tagore and Patrick Geddes Reader (2017), The Homing Bird (2017), Letters to my Mother and Other Mothers (2015), Rabindranath Tagore's Global Vision, in a special guest-edited issue of Literature Compass (2015). Her awards include the 2015 Outstanding Woman of Scotland awarded by Saltire Society, Women Empowered: Arts and Culture Award in 2010 and the aio Prize for Literary Services in Scotland in 2009. She has also had a special felicitation given by Public Relations Society of India as a Poet on International Women's Day in March 2017. She is a Professor of English and Creative Writing and co-founder and Director of the Scottish Centre of Tagore Studies (ScoTs) at Edinburgh Napier University. She is Chief Editor of the academic and creative peer-reviewed international e-journal, Gitanjali & Beyond.

Alan Riach was born in Airdrie in 1957. He studied English literature at Cambridge University from 1976 to 79. He completed his PhD in the Department of Scottish Literature at Glasgow University in 1986. His academic career has included positions as a post-doctoral research fellow, senior lecturer, Associate Professor and Pro-Dean in the Faculty of Arts, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand 1986-2000. He returned to Scotland in January 2001 and is currently the Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow.

Reviews

This lovely anthology is full of great poetry and beauty from Sir Walter Scott to modern lovely poets, only a few of whom I have quoted here, and it will make a wonderful gift. - Aline Dobbie, IndiaGBnews.com

Book Information
ISBN 9781912147090
Author Bashabi Fraser
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Luath Press Ltd
Publisher Luath Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 150g
Dimensions(mm) 210mm * 135mm * 15mm