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Literature Across Frontiers (LAF) congratulate Niyati Bhat on being awarded the 2024 Fellowship in Translation and Creative Writing endowed by the Charles Wallace India Trust. 

The fellowship is based with LAF at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies in Aberystwyth and complements LAF’s long-standing engagement with literary India. 

Niyati Bhat is a writer, literary translator and editor of Kashmiri Pandit origin from New Delhi, India. She is also a PhD Candidate in Cinema Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her work has appeared in leading Indian and international publications and she has presented her work on Kashmiri music and Indian cinema in international forums and conferences. You can read more about her work at 

She arrived in Aberystwyth in April and during her three-months’ residency she will be working on an ancestral memoir of Kashmiri Pandit women, documenting and reimagining the experiences of their community’s exodus from their homeland more than three decades ago. She presented her project at the National Library in the presence of former Mayor of Aberystwyth Kerry Ferguson. 

Alexandra Büchler, director of Literature Across Frontiers said: “We are delighted to welcome our seventh CWIT fellow.As always, the standard of applications was high, and many candidates presented projects that we would have been pleased to support. However, Niyati’s proposal stood out with its compelling treatment of an important subject, and we look forward to the outcomes of her stay with us.”  

Niyati Bhat said: “I am honoured to accept the Charles Wallace India Trust fellowship. I am thankful to the Trust, the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies and its Director, Professor Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, and LAF Director Alexandra Büchler, as well as staff member Elin Haf for their generous support. I am delighted to be in Wales, the birthplace of my favourite poet, Dylan Thomas. 

The fellowship has allowed me a much-needed break from my PhD in Cinema Studies to focus on this book project that began with an essay in January 2020, when Kashmiri Pandits completed thirty years in exile. I am also working on collating my first collection of poems after receiving a thrilling response from poetry enthusiasts after I read my work at the Aberystwyth Poetry Festival. 

A mother tongue, a language, plays a critical role in the survival of a culture. It is inspiring to learn about the ways in which the people of Wales are preserving the Welsh language. The warmth of the people I have met so far, their culture of reading and free access to vast amounts of literature and archives at the National Library of Wales and Aberystwyth Town Library and their commitment to the Welsh language has renewed my interest in the preservation of the Kashmiri language and literature. 

I am grateful to CWIT and LAF for their faith in my work. There are many rich literary and cultural exchanges that this fellowship has made possible since I arrived, such as discovering the parallels between Welsh and Kashmiri mythological figures and stories, the portrayals of women in folklore of both cultures and I am eager to see where that takes me next in my creative journey.

Notes for Editors

Contact: Alexandra Büchler: alexandra@lit-across-frontiers.org

Background 

Literature Across Frontiers (LAF) is the European Platform for Literary Exchange, Translation and Policy Debate established in Wales with support from the European Union in 2001. Find more about LAF 

LAF is based at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, adjacent to the National Library, and is part of ���Ҵ�ý, alongside  the programme promoting Welsh books and providing support for their translation. Their activities are supported by the Arts Council of Wales and other funders.

The fellowship at LAF was launched in 2016, and past fellows have distingushed themselves with the works that resulted form their residencies, both as literary translators and writers.

The  (CAWCS) was established by the University of Wales in 1985 as a dedicated research centre conducting team-based projects on the languages, literatures, culture and history of Wales and the other Celtic countries. It is located in Aberystwyth, adjacent to the National Library of Wales, which is an internationally renowned copyright library with excellent research facilities. 

CAWCS offers unique opportunities for postgraduate students to work alongside specialists in a dynamic and supportive environment. We welcome enquiries about MPhil/PhD topics in any of our research areas. For more information about research opportunities, or for an informal chat about possible topics, contact our Head of Graduate Studies, Dr Elizabeth Edwards: e.edwards@wales.ac.uk 

Further Information

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