Dr. Suman Keshari

Dr. Suman Keshari holds a doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University, where her research focused on the sixteenth-century visually impaired poet-saint Surdas. A lifelong learner, she subsequently pursued an MBA with a major in Strategic Human Resource Management at the University of Western Australia, Perth. After a long career as a bureaucrat, she took voluntary retirement to devote herself to writing and academia.

Her writing is distinct, deep, and expansive, rooted in a combination of research, scholarship, and administrative experience. Its interpretative depth is evident not only in her creative expression but in her metaphorical and contemplative inquiry into myth and mythology, and her poetry underlines an abiding faith in the power of the word. Her poetry collections include Yagyavalkavya Se Behas (Rajkamal Prakashan, 2008), Monalisa ki Aankhen (Rajkamal Prakashan, 2013), Pyramidon Ki Tehon Mein (Rajkamal Prakashan, 2018), Nimitt Nahin: Mahabharat Ki Striyon Ki Gaathayen (Vani Prakashan, 2022), and the eBook Shabad aur Sapne (NotNul, 2015). Rajasthani and Marathi translations of Monalisa ki Aankhen have been published and an English translation is in progress, while individual poems have been translated into English, French, Spanish, Bangla, Nepali, and Marathi.

Beyond poetry, she has written the critical and educative Kavita ke Desh Mein: Kavitayen aur Unka Paath (Rajkamal Prakashan, 2022). In recent years she has turned to playwriting, with Corona Kaal Mein Shadi (2020), a short play published in the web magazine Shabdankan, and the book-length plays Gandhari (Bodhi Prakashan, 2022) and Hidimba (Bodhi Prakashan, 2024), both centred on women characters from the Mahabharata. She has also prepared the textbooks Sargam and Swara (Tushar Publication, 2010) for students from Prep to Grade Eight.

Her edited volumes include JNU mein Namavar Singh (Rajkamal Prakashan, 2009) and Armenian Jansanhar: Ottoman Samrajya ka Kalank (Rajkamal Prakashan, 2009), co-edited with Dr Mane Mkrtchyan. The latter is the first attempt in Hindi to examine the first genocide of the twentieth century through the lens of Armenian literature, and the first to translate Armenian literature at such scale into Hindi, alongside chronicling survivors' accounts. It was honoured with a gold medal by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia.

Popularly known as Kathanati, she is a much-loved narrative storyteller, and her work can be followed on her YouTube channel, Kathanati Suman Keshari.