Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca was born and raised in a Bene-Israel Jewish family in Bombay, now, Mumbai.
She was educated at the Queen Mary School, Bombay, received her BA in English and French at St Xavier’s college, an MA from the University of Bombay in English and American Literature, and a Master’s in Education from Oxford Brookes University, England. She has taught English, French and Spanish in various colleges and schools in India and overseas, in a teaching career spanning over four decades. Her most memorable stint in teaching was for sixteen years at the Woodstock International School in Mussoorie in North India, where she taught High School in the English Department (Creative Writing, Poetry and Advanced Placement English, among other courses) She is proud to say that Woodstock, with its excellent education and pristine surroundings nestled in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains, ranks number one among International schools in India.
She has conducted Poetry Workshops for students and teachers on how to write poetry, both in India and abroad, and workshops on Teaching for the Tibetan School teachers in Mussoorie, India. After her sabbatical in Oxford, where her thesis was on Women in Leadership, she also held the position of Career Counselor at the school.
Her first book, Family Sunday and Other Poems was published in 1989, with a second edition in 1990. She has read her poems for the All India Radio in Mumbai, and her poem ‘Family Sunday’ was featured in an Anthology of Women’s Writing. Her poems have been published in online Poetry sites like Destiny Poets. U.K, and Spillwords, and she was featured on the World Literature Blog by Dr. Ampat Koshy. She writes Poetry and Short Fiction, and is a member of the Significant League of poets.
Kavita is the daughter of the late poet, Nissim Ezekiel. Thanks to her poet father, Kavita has been steeped in poetry from childhood and has always had a passion for the written and spoken word. Preserving her father’s legacy is something very near and dear to her heart. She is currently working on her second book of poems and a memoir of her life.
