Calling all Sanskrit Poets

Q: What happens when a British woman with a degree in Classics and Sanskrit from Oxford University moves to Bangalore?

A: She falls in love with an Indian fashion designer and a Royal Enfield Bullet aficionado (yes – that’s ONE person). She becomes a Bullet aficionado, he becomes a Sanskrit buff, they get married and live happily ever after.. in Bangalore.

Her story is obviously a lot more interesting and multi-faceted than described above and doesn’t really end here 🙂

She (Venetia Kotamraju) has set up a small Sanskrit publishing house called Rasala – www.rasalabooks.com. Venetia and her co-founder (Shankar Rajaraman) are inviting submissions for an anthology of verses on the theme ‘night’.

Are you a Sanskrit buff or know someone who’s a Sanskrit professional or moonlighter? If you answered yes, please spread the word and, if you have any verses (your own or those of your favourite poets), you can contact Venetia here.

Q: How do I know Venetia and (gosh) am I interested in Sanskrit?

A: I once rented a Bullet motorcycle for 2 weeks from her brother-in-law, discovered her credentials and love for Sanskrit and have been in touch. I used to suck at Sanskrit in school. During my years in Chicago I developed a mild interest in Sanskrit, attended a 2-week Spoken Sanskrit workshop (which was a lot of fun). Sadly, it’s one of my many interests that somehow don’t make it to the ‘priority list’.

2024 February Update Turns out the Ansell/Kotamraju’s have moved around a bit in the past 12 years. From [yurt life in Britain](https://svargaonearth.wordpress.com/category/building/] to a jungle home in the Western Ghats and now in Good Earth Malhar - an eco village on the outskirts of Bangalore.