Dros yr haf eleni fe ges i ac Aneirin Karadog ein dewis i fod yn ddim llai na llysgenhadon barddol i gymdeithas adeiladu Nationwide! Neu dyna o leiaf un ffordd o ddisgrifio'r ffaith inni dderbyn cais gan Nationwide i lunio cerdd ar y testun 'cyfeillgarwch', ac i ddarllen y gerdd honno i gamera wedyn ganol Hydref yn siop bysgod a sglodion Beale's ym Mhorthcawl. Er gwaetha'r ffaith ein bod ni'n dau'n cwrdd o leiaf unwaith bob mis bellach er mwyn recordio podlediad Clera, dwi a Nei wedi dod yn ffrindiau da, ac roedd y cyfansoddi a'r ffilmio – gyda diolch i'r criw i gyd – yn brofiad arbennig!

​Mae'r hysbyseb yn rhan o ymgyrch ehangach gan Nationwide sy'n rhoi llwyfan i feirdd ac i farddoniaeth. Darlledwyd yr hysbyseb isod – yn Gymraeg – ar hyd a lled Prydain am y tro cyntaf ar 31 Hydref. Mae'r gerdd ar gael i'w darllen isod hefyd, ynghyd â chyfieithiad Saesneg.

Over the summer, Aneirin Karadog and I were chosen to be what can only be described as two of Nationwide's poetic ambassadors. We were at least asked to write a poem on the theme of 'friendship', and then to read the poem to camera one morning in Beale's fish and chip restaurant in Porthcawl. Nei and I have become good friends over the last year – both because and despite meeting up at least once every month to record the Clera podcast – and the writing and filming process (with a special thanks to the crew) was a great experience.

The advert is part of a wider campaign by Nationwide that puts poets and poetry centre stage. Our advert was broadcast for the first time in Welsh across Britain on 31 October. The original poem is also included above, along with an English translation.

Ddiwedd Hydref fe deithiais i ddinas Kolkata yn nwyrain India ar gyfer ail ran Cysylltiadau Barddonol India-Cymru, prosiect a drefnir gan Lenyddiaeth ar Draws Ffiniau ac a ariennir gan British Council Cymru a Chelfyddydau Rhyngwladol Cymru. Mae'r podlediad isod – y pumed yn y gyfres hon – ynghyd â rhai lluniau a dynnais ar y daith, yn rhoi blas o'r profiadau hynod ddiddorol a ges i a Sampurna Chattarji, un o lenorion Saesneg mwyaf blaenllaw India, yn un o ddinasoedd mwyaf byrlymus y byd.

Mae'r pedwar podlediad arall yn y gyfres – rhai a recordiwyd yn ystod ymweliad Sampurna ag Aberystwyth eleni – ar gael fan hyn:

• Podlediad Cysylltiadau Barddonol #1: Cerflun mewn sw, heriau barddol a bardd mewn dwfe …
• Podleidad Cysylltiadau Barddonol #2: Cantre'r Gwaelod, crôl llenyddol a pheryglon cyfieithu …
• Podlediad Cysylltiadau Barddonol #3: Clera ym Machynlleth, Dafydd ap Gwilym a strydoedd poeth Mwmbái …
• Podlediad Cysylltiadau Barddonol #4: Podlediad a recordiwyd ar faes yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol ym Môn …

At hynny, mae dau o'n cyd-feirdd ar y prosiect, Subhro Bandopadhyay a Nicky Arscott, wedi recordio podlediad Cysylltiadau Barddonol hefyd, ac mae ar gael i'w wrando fan hyn.

1. Cyflwyniad | Intro
2. 2.45 Ar lan llyn Rabindra Sarobar gyda V. Ramaswamy | By Lake Rabindra Sarobar with V. Ramaswamy
3. 5.20 Gweithdy yn y Den yn ThinkArts | Workshop in the Den at ThinkArts
4. 12.50 Digwyddiad a drefnwyd gan British Council Kolkata | Event at British Council Kolkata
5. 18.30 Cerdd ymryson gyntaf Sampurna | Sampurna's first kobir lorai poem
6. 21.25 Cerdd ymryson gyntaf Eurig | Eurig's first kobir lorai poem
7. 23.35 Ar lan afon Hwgli gyda'r ffotograffydd Debarshi Sarkar | A hike along the Hugli river with the photographer Debarshi Sarkar
8. 30.30 Mynwent South Park Street | The South Park Street Cemetary
9. 35.10 Shantiniketan
10. 42.55 Golwg ar yr hyn sy i ddod | A look at what's to come

At the end of October I travelled to Kolkata in east India for the second part of the Poetry Connections India-Wales project, organized by Literature Across Frontiers and supported by British Council Wales and Wales Arts International. In the podcast above – the fifth in this series – Sampurna Chattarji and I discuss our experiences of the bustling, maddening and inspiring city of Kolkata (accompanied by some photos I took on the way).

The four other podcasts in the series – recorded during Sampurna's stay in Aberystwyth earlier this year – are available here:

• Poetry Connections Podcast #1: A statue in a zoo, poetic challenges and a duvet-wrapped poet …
• Poetry Connections Podcast #2: A sunken kingdom, correct pronounciation and problems with the present tense …
• Poetry Connections Podcast #3: A warm welcome in Machynlleth, Dafydd ap Gwilym and the changing face of Mumbai …
• Poetry Connections Podcast #4: This podcast was recorded at the National Eisteddfod on Anglesey …

Two of our fellow-poets on the project, Subhro Bandopadhyay and Nicky Arscott, have also recorded a Poetry Connections podcast, and is available here.