Updated: Dec 6, 2024
Written by Nilim Kumar
Translated from Assamese by Dibyajyoti Sharma
Published by Red River (2022)
Price: Rs. 399
Language: English, pp.178
-Vedamini Vikram
In I'm Your Poet, Nilim Kumar offers readers a profound way to engage with and understand a culture distinct yet integral to the diverse fabric of India. Poetry, known for its ability to bridge experiential gaps, is further enhanced by the power of translation. Through the translation of Kumar’s work into English, not only does the reader gain access to the vernacular and geographical nuances of Assam, but also a broader audience—especially English-speaking readers—can partake in the cultural subtleties and flavors that might otherwise remain inaccessible. However, it would be an oversimplification to confine Nilim Kumar solely to the label of an "Assamese poet" or reduce his work to a mere reflection of Assamese essence. To fully appreciate Kumar’s poetry, we must first encounter him as a human being, and then acknowledge the transcendent nature of his work, which resists geographical or cultural boundaries. While it is essential to embrace the vernacular aspects of his poetry—both to challenge linguistic and cultural hegemony and to cultivate a more cosmopolitan and evolved worldview—his work should not be constrained by these markers. The core of Kumar’s poetry speaks to universal truths, rising above localized labels. Though grounded in concrete, distinct contexts, it transcends the subjective to address the objective, which occupies the central space in his work. As a modern and cosmopolitan poet, he draws inspiration from figures like Picasso and Whitman, and his metaphors often have an expansive, global reach. His work resists easy categorization, and any attempt to confine him to a singular label would overlook the broader scope of his artistic vision.
The book serves as an excellent introduction to the works of Nilim Kumar for readers encountering his poetry for the first time. The supplementary material included at the end offers multiple perspectives and approaches to understanding both the poet and his work. A particularly insightful note by Ravi Shankar N discusses the broader landscape of translation in India, emphasizing the underrepresentation of vernacular poetry in English. In a country as culturally and linguistically diverse as India, Ravi Shankar argues that to fully and effectively map the scope of Indian poetry, every region requires representation, and more translations are necessary. He points out that the absence of such translations creates a gap in understanding Indian poetry, especially in thematic areas like resistance poetry, where vernacular poets excel in bringing unique, often advanced, perspectives. English translations, he notes, tend to be limited to urban spaces, making books like this one essential and much needed in today’s literary landscape. Additionally, the book features a note by Subodh Sarkar, a Bengali poet and close friend of Nilim Kumar. Sarkar offers an intimate glimpse into the flavors and textures of Indian poetry. He identifies elements of resistance, controversy, rebellion, and an "otherworldliness" in Nilim Kumar's work, which he describes as "abstract" or "unreal," yet rooted in real-life issues like love. Sarkar cautions readers not to confine Kumar to a particular state or nation, but rather to view him as a poet who transcends borders and is not limited by time. The supplementary material also includes an insightful interview with Nilim Kumar, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the poet’s inspirations and inner workings. This interview acts as a companion to the poetry, allowing readers to experience both the poet's process and his art more fully.
For readers unfamiliar with Assamese poetry or Nilim Kumar's work, this book offers a clear path into his world. However, one might find themselves curious about what is lost in translation. A note by the translator, Dibyajoti Sharma, addressing the challenges and nuances of translating Nilim Kumar's work would have enriched the volume. While Nabina Das endorses the translation, the absence of Sharma’s personal insights leaves the reader wondering about the intricacies of the translation process. Fortunately, the book also has translations by Nabina Das and Anandita Kar which allow for a closer examination of translation techniques by comparison. Despite these gaps, the essence of Nilim Kumar’s poetry comes through, and the reader can trust that the translation successfully conveys the powerful emotions at the heart of his work.
Nilim Kumar is an established and widely-read poet, with many of his poems previously translated by other poets and even published online. However, this may be the first time an English-language publication, such as Red River, has brought together such a comprehensive introduction to his work in book form. As such, the book is unique and informative, and, due to the power of the poems themselves, truly beautiful. Red River is known for its engagement with emerging voices, and this publication feels reminiscent of their earlier release, Witness: Red River Book of Poetry of Dissent, which featured powerful voices of dissent from across the country. In this present volume, another such voice emerges in the form of Nilim Kumar. Subodh Sarkar writes, "The streets of Guwahati have seen protests against Nilim... he is a poet who courts controversy. Without controversy, are you even a poet?" Kumar himself acknowledges breaking away from the conventional forms of Assamese poetry, and the book reflects this defiance. He shares that his early exposure to leftist ideals sparked a desire to break societal stagnation and build anew, which influenced his rejection of traditional poetic language and forms in Assamese poetry. He recalls, “An undefined social resentment was also born. I was writing to lacerate society. I didn’t care about readers or critics.” His themes are bold, and dissent clearly forms a central part of his poetic journey. Nabina Das, who edited the earlier edition of Witness, introduces Nilim Kumar in this volume as a poet of repute in Assam, describing him as a doctor diagnosing more than diseases and prescribing more than medicines. She reflects on his poems with a sense of nostalgia for her own hometown, which Kumar’s poetry evokes, and she characterizes his work as both urbane and introspective.
In his poetry, Nilim Kumar emerges as a distinct contemporary voice, with images that are not only relatable but deeply rooted in recent, urban life. A central theme in Kumar's poetry is the nature of poetry itself. His work invites readers to ask, "What is a poem?" Is it something metaphysical, as the Romantic poets believed, an "overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility"? In this view, poetry becomes a medium through which the poet accesses transcendental knowledge, relying heavily on intuition. Alternatively, one could argue, as Marxist scholars have, that poetry, like other forms of art or literature, is a cultural product shaped by hegemonic structures and subconscious appropriations. In this perspective, poetry is not a divine or transcendental entity but rather a product of cultural absorption, amalgamation, reinterpretation, or rejection. Nilim Kumar, however, aligns more with the former interpretation, as illustrated in the first poem of his book, “What is a Poem”. He asserts that poetry is not something the poet can summon at will; rather, it comes and goes of its own accord, beyond the poet’s control. Kumar writes in a state of frenzy, claiming that when this frenzy subsides, the original language of the poem is often lost. He states, "Sometimes poetry disappears like this, for poetry is not slave to poets that it could be summoned to the nib of the pen whenever the poet wants! Poetry comes at its will." His assertion that "poetry does not believe in any theory; it transcends all theories" further emphasizes his belief that poetry is indifferent to the frameworks and ideas we often impose upon it. Instead, Kumar suggests that poetry offers a glimpse into the poet’s subconscious, transcending the cultural and linguistic constructs that shape its expression. In this light, Kumar’s poetry can be seen as a voice from the subconscious, an entity from "the world beyond." Despite being clothed in the idioms and phrases of a particular time and place, and despite sometimes being thoroughly political in nature, his poems are imbued with an existential essence. The "I" and "you" in his work are not fixed or concrete, but fluid and deep. Apart from content, this is also evident in form. The subconscious creativity is evident in his poem, “In Love with the Corona Infected”, where the repetition of lines like,
"We noticed on both our hearts, The ebb and flow of the same waves
— The ebb and flow of the same waves, And their refusal to return,"
creates a rhythmic pulse. This repetition seems to arise from an internal rhythm, suggesting that emotion, rather than conscious choice, drives the use of literary tools like repetition.
Kumar refers to this intense feeling as an alter ego, a separate entity within him that guides the poetic process. In an interview, Kumar speaks of the poet as a figure who comes to him "without my knowledge." This poetic entity, which he describes as embodying both good and bad human habits, arrives when in need: “He comes to me when he is hungry. He comes to me when he is thirsty... I have to feed him food and water with my hands. I have to pacify him and put him to sleep on the bed of my bosom. He writes poems in exchange for that." The poet, in this sense, is not simply a creator but a figure of necessity, living through the experiences of joy, sorrow, laughter, and agony that Kumar himself endures. Both the poet and the man live the same life, intertwined and inseparable. In summary, Nilim Kumar's poetry not only challenges conventional notions of poetic creation but also opens a window into the subconscious, offering a unique blend of personal experience and universal truth. His work insists that poetry is more than a crafted artifact—it is a living, breathing entity that transcends the poet, offering a deeper understanding of the world beyond what we can articulate through reason or theory. This collection, with its thoughtful translation and insightful supplementary material, is an essential read for those looking to explore the powerful voice of Nilim Kumar.
About the Reviewer:
Vedamini Vikram is a doctoral student at the University of Lucknow. Her Ph.D thesis is associated with Indian Mysticism and its cross-cultural aspects. She graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi University and pursued her Master’s degree in English from Ambedkar University, Delhi. She has worked at Amity University, Lucknow as Assistant Professor and at IIM, Lucknow as Research Associate. Her creative works have been published in Teesta Review, Muse India, Rhetorica Quarterly and other literary journals. Her areas of interest include Mystic Literatures, Travel Literatures and Performance Studies.
Updated: Dec 6, 2024
Written by Shikhandin
ISBN: 978-93-92494-49-9 (Paperback)
Price: Rs. 299
Published by Red River (2024)
Language: English
-Sutanuka Ghosh Roy
Shikhandin is the pen name of an Indian writer. She writes fiction and poetry for both children and adults. The Woman on the Red Oxide Floor is the latest addition to her kitty. The novel truly reiterates Helen Frankenthaler’s thoughts, “There are no rules. That is how art is born”. “In her novel, The Woman on the Red Oxide Floor, Shikhandin both challenges and surprises the readers, moving from the narration of the most mundane events to something way beyond. The mother-child theme however remains paramount, with an almost perfect rendition of an infant’s life and thoughts. In the end, all the dots are connected and a new picture emerges” writes Shashi Deshpande.
The title of the novel is intriguing and interesting. Red oxide flooring continues to grace hundreds of Indian homes with its warm embrace and symbolizes sustainability, resilience, and the persistent beauty of a flooring choice that transcends generations. The red oxide floor –the space is a character in the novel. The woman on the red oxide floor is a vessel to portray female desire and tribulations. Shikhandin perfectly encapsulates not only the closely observant nature of her realist oeuvre but also her fascination for capturing the pulsating moments of life and death using several dark shades of the same colour. Her insightful portrayal of women— beauty in their gusto for life—and the influence of the mundane on their day-to-day lives is evident as well. Lyricism, devotion, and sensuality, synonymous with the feminine and the divine, are the leitmotifs running through the novel. “Stranded in this strange afternoon, which grips her in the stranglehold of incomprehensible alarm, the woman hears and sees the story unfurl. The voice fades. She begins to see the march of characters and events in the story from behind her closed eyes. Much of it is part of a familiar story, one that she had forgotten”. The recurrent theme of the relationship between the mother and the child in vividly painted images adds depth and tonality to The Woman on the Red Oxide Floor.
The story of ‘Baby Blue’ seen inside and out along with his Baba and Mamma emphasizes how the exploration of both form and humanist ideals fuel creativity in the age of modernism. The novelist writes about the ordinary daily chores of “Mamma”, and her struggles to handle a newborn baby, fascinated by the changes that the claws of time have wrought on her face. Everything familiar decomposes and disintegrates with time and the constant conflict between the real and the unreal unsettles her: “Mamma’s wants must be minimal, because that is the only way a real woman can be happy. Is she real, the woman ponders? Was I real? That me who used to be so unlike the me today. Then again, what does it meant to be real?” A fresh departure from the conventional form of the novel, The Woman on the Red Oxide Floor exudes Shikhandin’s deeper understanding of the woman’s body and its relationship with form. “Oscillating between the concrete and the abstract, live shadows and people, Shikhandin’s evocative novella, The Woman on the Red Oxide Floor traverses through the inner and outer scapes of consciousness of the protagonists, the mother as well as the infant. The expansive range and canvas for action is touchingly experiential, inviting the reader to grapple with the intriguing folds of life and death” writes Sukrita Paul Kumar. Shikhandin brings a fresh perspective to the genre of novel writing. She incorporates ‘orality’ in her narrative technique which surprises her readers. Her craft cannot be bracketed under one theme, but almost every canvas shows signs of angst. There is no dearth of details in Shikhandin’s folds of the woman’s psyche.
“The night has grown thick outside her window. The woman is getting ready for bed when she hears the word petni. She starts. Her eyes involuntarily look at the dark sky outside. She feels the world hurtling towards her with ghoulish mirth. ‘Petni’ hits her ears like a vial of poison, infecting her from within. She rushes to the mirror to see her face. Tears well up and leak her stricken eyes. She clamps her hand over her mouth to stop the wracking sobs that threaten to erupt”. Shikhandin captures the woman’s eerie ability to communicate the fear and dread of these turbulent times. This unsettling realism stems from deeply personal traumas and a first-hand experience of human suffering. It is tempered by the poignance and poetry of being a woman. Disturbing yet riveting, these images are a powerful comment on the psyche of a woman who transcends the banality. The feminine aura is ubiquitous to the novelist’s culturescape. Shikhandin dissents from the conventional norms of society and her characters are real and relatable. Her craft has a strong message and her lines carry the conviction and confidence of one who knows her mind. “She comprehends. She understands. She now knows. This world is nothing but a dream populated by dreamers”.
About the Reviewer:
Dr. Sutanuka Ghosh Roy is an Associate Professor of English at Tarakeswar Degree College, The University of Burdwan. She has published widely and presented papers at National and International Seminars. She has contributed research articles and papers to anthologies, and national and international journals of repute like Text, Journal of Writing and Writing Courses, Australia, Kervan International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies, University of Turin, Italy, Fiar, University of Bielefeld, Germany, Muse India, Setu, Lapiz Lazuli, The Times of India, The Statesman, Life and Legends, Kitaab, etc. Her poems have been anthologized and published in Setu, Piker Press, Harbinger Asylum, Teesta Journal, etc. The titles of her books are Critical Inquiry: Text, Context, and Perspectives, Commentaries: Elucidating Poetry, Rassundari Dasi’s Amar Jiban: A Comprehensive Study, Ashprishya (translated into Bengali, a novel by Sharan Kumar Limbale,). “Opera” is her debutant collection of poetry. She is also a reviewer, poet, and critic.
Updated: Dec 11, 2024
Written by Gayathri Prabhu
Published by Harper Collins
ISBN: 9352773764
Language: English, pp. 192
-Meenakshi
If I Had to Tell it Again is a moving memoir. In this memoir, Prabhu pens an honest account of her father’s battle with depression and her own struggle of combating the same disability. Her father, referred to as SGM in the text, grew up among several siblings. Since he was the brightest kid among all of his siblings, his grandfather saw potential in him and helped him get a good education. SGM wanted to be a doctor but family responsibilities and expectations forced him into pursuing B.com. He graduated and moved to a town with a clerical job. He was a talented man. He could write, play drums, sing, and was popular among friends and neighbours. He was the epitome of a selfless man. But something brought him down in the middle phase of his life that he could not come out of. He had great expectations from himself and he felt like he could not live up to them. That was probably the major reason that led him towards the path of depression. He started drinking too much, became abusive, and hit his daughters until his anger calmed down. He raised his daughters in an unconventional manner. He liked his elder daughter Gayathri more than the second daughter and bestowed on her all the expectations which he had had from life. He wanted her to accomplish everything he could not achieve. And when she could not excel in those things, he felt shattered. This became the point from where there was no turning back. He indulged more and more in drinking alcohol. He started talking about suicide frequently. He never accepted his disability and did not seek aid. For him, it was his misfortune and failure. In the later phase of his life, he did want to quit alcohol but it was too late by then. He died as he promised—without troubling his family.
Gayathri Prabhu’s story of depression begins with her father’s exceptional expectations and the beatings she received from him. She avers “it was exhausting, damaging, infuriating to be his favourite” (Prabhu 22). She had several encounters of child abuse and since her father always neglected her, she could not raise her voice against the sexual predators. The grim reality is that these sexual predators were led into her life by her own father. Since SGM had the quixotic ideals of goodness in humans, he could not sense the ulterior motives of these relatives and friends. Prabhu was expected to accomplish marvellous things in life. She tried her best but she couldn’t do any better. She lost her first child in a miscarriage, got divorced from her husband and struggled to find any new path in life. She did not have anyone to share the vortex of darkness she was in. But unlike her father, she sensed her problem and decided to take treatment. It was gruelling for her but she did not let depression end her life.
Both SGM and Prabhu endured the same disability. It is intriguing to note that both were coerced to attain astounding things. SGM’s family wanted him to be a successful man and since he could not become one, he wished that his eldest daughter would fulfill that goal. Talking about the expectations of her father, she writes, “and because he had declared himself a failure, there was no room for me to be anything but a success” (Prabhu, 10). Thinkers like Albert Ellis have accentuated in their writings that depression is the outcome of a constant societal gaze and expectations of the society from individuals. Though it is difficult to trace the beginning of depression in an individual, it can be observed that Prabhu and SGM were the victims of a persistent societal gaze that made them believe that they are not worthy. No matter how hard they strived, they could not fulfill these expectations.
Karla Thompson in “Depression and Disability: A Practical Guide”, asserts that people who have had too many bad experiences and too few good experiences are likely to have depression. In Prabhu’s case it was many bad experiences of child abuse, beatings, and ignorance on her father’s part. SGM too had many negative experiences in the form of failures and disappointments. Because of the enigmatic nature of depression, it is not easy to identify it in an individual but that does not negate the fact that it affects an individual's entire life and can even lead one to their own death. Both SGM and Prabhu had suicidal tendencies. To limn her father’s condition, she writes, “he talked about killing himself more and more frequently towards the end” (Prabhu, 19). Though SGM did not commit suicide, he did end his life in a way, indulging in alcoholism. Prabhu captures her helplessness by writing, “we begged our father to seek help, but he would not. I just want to die, he said, don’t worry, I won’t be a burden on you” (Prabhu, 31). In his depressed state, SGM sought refuge in alcohol. But instead of giving him any relief, it ended his life.
In this gripping memoir, Prabhu addresses one of the vital issues related with mental disability i.e., stigmatization and ostracization of mentally disabled people. Depression may not be regarded as a serious health problem in itself but when one starts to receive treatment for it, they are likely to be labelled ‘abnormal’ in society. The very idea of getting treatment for mental disabilities is perceived as a sign of ‘madness’ because mental disabilities are seen in a different light from other health problems and disabilities. In ‘Leap’, a one act play, when character W tries to reveal that she is depressed, M cautions her that “they [society] will never look at us [depressed people] the same way again” (Prabhu, 63). M’s assertion raises the pertinent issue of how disclosing one’s mental disability potentially leads an individual to ostracization. One starting her treatment, Prabhu’s close friends and family started treating her abominably. She mentions “those around me stepped away, as one does when a life starts to unspool, and there was nothing to do but accept what that implied. Perhaps they saw the confusion, the mess, which had grown roots in my head” (Prabhu, 117).
When an individual deals with depression, he/she is left alone and expected to get rid of it by doing exercise, being happy, going out, developing new hobbies, staying positive; essentially by doing everything except getting treatment. That is what SGM and Prabhu were advised to do. SGM himself neglected his disability and Prabhu had to toil to get treatment. It was excruciating for her to convince her own father that she is not unfortunate and her disability can be cured. The memoir not only portrays the plight of SGM and Prabhu but also situates depression as a serious health problem that should be addressed.
Alice Hall remarks that disability narratives written by disabled individuals are vital texts in delineating an insider’s view of disability. Since there is scarce representation of depression in Indian English literature, it is imperative to create a legacy of disability writings that describe what it feels like to suffer from mental disabilities and the process of overcoming them. Prabhu’s memoir is a commendable attempt at creating a space for addressing the sufferings, myths, assumptions, and preconceived notions attached to depression. She has written a memoir that talks about a community- the community of the mentally disabled. She declares her intention of writing this memoir when she avers,
"That is why, to be silent, I tell myself, would be to collude with the collective denial and discomfort about mental illness…the most valuable advice is to talk about it, to tell someone, and even though the telling is just a start, it is needed. Otherwise, the shame is muted and the muted stays shameful, slowly snuffing out one’s spirit. This is why one writes a memoir. This is why one tells strangers. We carry the invisible, and perhaps the telling can honour it, make it real and seen" (Prabhu, 131).
Through this memoir Prabhu weaves word by word the collective experiences of depressed people. Madhavi Menon acknowledges Prabhu’s efforts and aptly points out that this memoir challenges our perceptions of depression. By the end of this memoir readers are compelled to see depression as a serious health problem and have an empathetic outlook towards depressed people.
About the Author:
Miss Meenakshi teaches English Language and Literature at Satyawati College (Evening) NCWEB Centre, University of Delhi, as a Guest Faculty and serves as an Academic Counsellor at SOL, University of Delhi. She is an avid reader and likes to indulge in research and writing. Her research interests include Disability Studies, Women’s Writing, and Identity Politics.