Randhir Khare

Randhir Khare grew up in a politically and culturally turbulent Calcutta where his poetry began appearing in magazines and literary journals. Over the years, his poetry has been presented at readings across the country, in Bulgaria, (the former) Czechoslovakia, England, during lecture presentations on India, exhibition openings and arts festivals in Dublin and rural Ireland, adapted for national and international contemporary puppet theatre performances, used extensively in creative and educational workshops in Ireland and India, set to music, used by the Victoria and Albert Museum for their exhibition on Nehru and the Making of Modern India and has inspired the works of painters, illustrators, photographers, educationists and multi-media producers.
Most recently he has performed his poetry with a jazz band at the international writer’s festival in Indonesia, an Iranian santoor player, a tabla player and with the Chamber Singers – a choir based in Pune. His poems have been set to music by A.R.Rahman.
The poet’s drawings have been exhibited in Pune and Mumbai and have appeared in a number of his books.
As folklorist, he has travelled into remote parts of India, collecting stories and songs from traditional communities, translating and documenting them for posterity. He is a storyteller and performer who has presented narratives to a variety of age groups. His series of traditional story telling sessions at Open Space in Pune was highly acclaimed and drew large audiences.

For the last 36 years he has been a teacher and creative educator - working with children, young people, young adults and adults through numerous creative workshops, helping them to discover their own creativity. He has been associated with premier schools, institutions and organisations all over the country. He has been Professor of Literature (M.A.) at Wadia College, Pune and Visiting Professor (M.A. Literature) at Poona College. He has written and illustrated two novels for children – The Last Jungle On Earth and The Legend of Creaky. Both have been used as rapid and supplementary readers in schools in Pune.

He has published twenty volumes of poetry, short fiction, travel, a futuristic fable and a novel and is the recipient of Pegasus - the Union of Bulgarian Writers’ Gold Medal for Poetry, The Sanskriti Award for Creative Writing in India,The Sahitya Akademi's (National Academy Of Letters) Residency Award for his contribution to Indian Literature in English, The Dronacharya Award for his contribution to education and The Winter Cultural Festival Poetry Prize among other awards.

He is :

Executive Editor,Heritage India, an international heritage magazine
Publisher, Grasswork Books
Director, Kahani India (an organization supporting folkloric story-telling traditions)
Director & Mentor of The Rewachand Bhojwani Academy in Pune, India
Director, Educational Projects & Programmes, The Rewachand Bhojwani Foundation