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Index
Cover Title page Contents About the Authors Introduction These My Words
‘What then shall poetry be about?’
Arun Kamble (b. 1953) Which Language Should I Speak? Kalidasa (c. 5 CE-6 CE) Is Poetry Always Worthy When It’s Old? Ezhuthacchan (16 CE) From Adhyatma Ramayana Nissim Ezekiel (1924-2004) Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-73) Banglabhasha Agha Shahid Ali (1949-2001) In Arabic Chandrasekhar Kambar (b. 1937) The Character I Created Hemant Divate (b. 1967) The Average Temperature of a Word Required for it to be Used in a Line of Poetry Nara (Velcheru Narayana Rao) (b. 1932) White Paper K. Satchidanandan (b. 1946) Gandhi and Poetry Debarati Mitra (b. 1946) Alphabet Nanne Coda (12 CE) From On Poetry in Telugu Bhavabhuti (725 CE) If Learned Critics Publicly Deride Meena Kandasamy (b. 1984) Mulligatawny Dreams Kunchan Nambiar (1700-70) From Prologue to The Progress to the Palace Chellapilla Venkata Sastri (1870-1950) I Was Born for Poetry Mona Zote (b. 1973) What Poetry Means to Ernestina in Peril Hiren Bhattacharya (b. 1932) These My Words J.P. Das (b. 1936) After Gujarat Arvind (b. 1950) First Poem Govindadas Jha (1570-1640) Homage to Jayadeva Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) From My Explanation Rituraj (b. 1940) Poets Vallathol Narayana Menon (1878-1958) From Faith and Erudition Nilmani Phookan (b. 1933) Poetry Is for Those Who Wouldn’t Read It Firaq Gorakhpuri (1896-1982) If There Are No Flowers Smita Agarwal (b. 1958) Daywatch in the Scriptorium Sunil Gangopadhyay (b. 1934) City of Memories Bhartrhari (c. 400 CE) Her Face Is Not the Moon, Nor Are Her Eyes Dilip Chitre (b. 1938) Evenings in Iowa City, Iowa Thangjam Ibopishak (b. 1948) Poem Mangalesh Dabral (b. 1948) Outside From Jayavallabha’s Vajjalagam (c. 8 CE) On Poetry Buddhadeva Bose (1908-74) For My Forty-Eighth Winter: 2 B.C. Ramchandra Sharma (1925-2005) An Old Tale from China Kedarnath Singh (b. 1934) On Reading a Love Poem
‘In your gracious garden’
From the Rig Veda (c. 17 CE-11 BCE) Creation Hymn From the oral Kannada epic Halumatha Mahakavya Creation Myth Akhtar-ul Iman (1915-96) Creation Harihara (c. 12 CE-13 CE) From Girija Kalyana The Summer Sun Amiya Chakravarty (1901-86) Calcutta R.V. Pandit (1917-90) My Goa Anon, Gujarati Folk Song Rain of the World Jyotirmoy Datta (b. 1936) Crabs on the Beach Vikram Seth (b. 1952) Flash Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh (1917-69) A Single Shooting Star Greece Chunder Dutt (1833-92) Water Fowl Kalidasa (c. 5 CE-6 CE) From The Loom of Time Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) The Tiger and the Deer Bana (7 CE) From The Deeds of Harsha A Stallion Wakes from His Sleep Anon, Punjabi Folk Song Lullaby Anon, Santhal Ritual Song Erok Sim Bonga Sarojini Naidu (1879-1948) The Bird Sanctuary From Jayavallabha’s Vajjalagam (c. 8 CE) Summer Sri Jnanadeva (1275-96) From Anubhavamrita, Canto IX Life of the Opened Self Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) From Gitanjali, 100 Subramania Bharati (1882-1921) Wind, 9 From the Atharva Veda (c. 2 BCE) Book XIX, Hymn 50 A Hymn to Night for Protection and Prosperity From the Isa Upanishads (c. 12 BCE-6 BCE) Umashankar Joshi (1911-88) Miles upon Miles Vyasa (c. 11 BCE-4 BCE) From the Bhagvad Gita Eunice de Souza (b. 1940) Learn from the Almond Leaf Melanie Silgardo (b. 1956) The Earthworm’s Story Siddhartha Menon (b. 1967) Beetles Santan Rodrigues (1948-2008) The Hang Anand Thakore (b. 1971) Tusker Kills Mahout at Religious Ceremony
Are you looking for a god?’
Sankaracarya (c. 8 CE) From Sivahandakahari Rasananda (c. 17 CE) Many Many Aeons Nammalvar (9 CE) From Love’s Messengers Vidyapati (15 CE) Imaginary Re-union 2 Periyazhwar (Vishnuchittan) (9 CE) From Hush-a-bye Baby Akkamahadevi (12 CE) Like an Elephant, Caught Arun Kolatkar (1932-2004) Yeshwant Rao Arul Cellatturai (c. mid-20 CE) Little House (6) Muktabai (13 CE) Open the Wattle-door, O Jnaneshwar! Eesar Das Barhat (1538-1618) Let the Pot with Just Water in It Kanakadasa (16 CE) Saku Saku Allama Prabhu (12 CE) It’s Dark Above the Clutching Hand Bahinabhai Chaudhuri (1880-1951) From Bahinabai’s Life and Thinking From the Rig Veda (c. 17 BCE-11 BCE) The Dove of Death Guru Nanak (1469-1539) Chet (March-April) Basavanna (1106-67/68) Like a Monkey on a Tree Devadurllabha Das (16 CE) From Rahasya Manjari Janabai (c. 1298-1350) God My Darling Bullah Shah (1680-1759) Strange Are the Times Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) Ghazal 257: Poverty Is More Pleasant than Majesty Sheikh Mohamad (16 CE) So It Is Done by God Gopal Namdev (1270-1350) From Returning from the Pilgrimage Harinath Majumdar (1833-96) Jaya— Sheikh Farid (1173-1265) From Eight Poems Vipin Parikh (b. 1930) I Want a God . . . Periyalvar (9 CE) From Hymns of the Alvars Who Shall Deliver Me from the Body of This Death? Mohammad Iqbal (1873-1938) Man and God Eknath (1533-99) Wonder of Wonders Puspadanta (8 CE) From Sivamahimnahstava Akha (17 CE) Vaishnav Struts About Town Ma Basanti Cakrabartti (20 CE) Ma, If You Wore a Benarasi Sari Joaquim Miranda (c. mid-18 CE) From Jesus Entered the Garden Annamayya (1408-1503) Imagine That I Wasn’t Here Narsinh (Narsi) Mehta (1408-80) If You Abuse Me with Your Language Anapiyya (19 CE) From Napikal Nayakam Pillaittamil Come So I Can Bedeck, with Anklets and Bells Mahadeviyakka (12 CE) He Bartered My Heart Ksetrayya (mid-17 CE) A Courtesan to Her Lover Mirabai (1498-1546) This Pain Has Driven Me Mad Palalikkuttar (c. mid-14 CE) From Tiruccentur Pillaittamil Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) Let’s Be Girls, Ma Sakalesha Madarasa (12 CE) Both of Us Are Tired Tukaram (c. 1608) God’s Own Dog: VI Salabega (c. 17 CE) O Sakhi, the Flute Plays in the Grove Ramprasad Sen (1718-75) What a Joke! Tyagaraja (1767-1847) Tell Me Why This Bad Mood Now Purandara Dasa (1485-1565) I Swear Andal (c. 9 CE) From Tiruppavai Subramania Bharati (1882-1921) Krishna the Omnipresent S. Joseph (b. 1965) My Sister’s Bible Kailash Vajpeyi Momin Minal Sarosh (b. 1960) On the Loft
‘I’m ever vigilant’
Ravji Patel (1939-68) Whirlwind Dhoomil (1935-75) A City, an Evening, and an Old Man: Me Nilakantha Dikshita (1580-1644) From Peace Jayanta Mahapatra (b. 1928) The Abandoned British Cemetery at Balasore, India Mahadevi Verma (1907-87) No Matter the Way Be Unknown Nissim Ezekiel (1924-2004) Background, Casually Jaya Mehta (b. 1932) When a Stone Is in One’s Hands Nirendranath Chakravarti (b. 1924) Old Age Firaq Gorakhpuri (1896-1982) Annihilate the Stillness of the Evening Narayana (c. 12 CE) From Hitopadesa On Hunger Vinod Kumar Shukla (b. 1937) Those That Will Never Come to My Home Mangesh Padgaonkar (b. 1929) Lamp Melanie Silgardo (b. 1956) Between Basudev Sunani (b. 1962) Satyabhama R. Parthasarathy (b. 1934) Taj Mahal Shanmuga Subbiah (b. 1924) Salutations Dhan Gopal Mukerji (1890-1937) In Bedlam Manohar Shetty (b. 1953) Rumour Attoor Ravi Varma (b. 1931) Sitting A.K. Ramanujan (1929-93) Anxiety Aziz Bano Darab (1934-2005) Ghazals Kunwar Narain (b. 1927) Day by Day Bal Sitaram Mardhekar (1909-56) This Is the Order Tishani Doshi (b. 1975) Homecoming Padma Sachdev (b. 1940) Sun Jerry Pinto (b. 1966) Window The Empress Nur Jahan (1577-1645) On the Tomb of Us Poor People Kutti Revathi (b. 1974) Breasts Jyotsna Karmakar (b. 1950) To Grandmother, Long After Ranjit Hoskote (b. 1969) Fern Adil Mansuri (1936-2008) The City Sitakant Mahapatra (b. 1937) Time Does Not Fly Balachandran Chullikkad (b. 1957) A Labourer’s Laughter II Jeet Thayil (b. 1959) Spiritus Mundi Sitanshu Yashashchandra (b. 1941) Solar Susmita Bhattacharya (b. 1947) Five Acts Keki Daruwalla (b. 1937) Map-maker Lal Ded (1330-1384) From I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Ded Pravin Gadhvi (b. 1951) Shadow Mrinal Pande (b. 1946) Two Women Knitting Anon, Rajputana Folk Song A Child-Husband Gieve Patel (b. 1940) The Ambiguous Fate of Gieve Patel, He Being Neither Muslim Nor Hindu in India Gagan Gill (b. 1959) The Girl’s Desire Moves among Her Bangles Ali Sardar Jafri (1912-2000) A Poem Valmiki (c. 600 BCE-250 CE) From the Ramayana, Book VI, Canto CXVII Sita’s Disgrace Valmiki (c. 600 BCE-250 CE) From the Ramayana, Book V, Canto 2 Lanka Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1713-80) On Drinking
‘My heart’s own love’
Punam Nambudiri (c. 16 CE) From Ramayana Campu The Moon-Rise Habba Khatoon (c. 16 CE) I Will Seek You Down the Wandering Brooks Mahe Jabeen (b. 1961) A Love Poem Baladev Rath (1789-1845) Oh, Pardon Me Amaru (c. 800 CE) She Neither Turned Away Palai Patiya Perunkatunko (c. 300 BCE-200 CE) There Are Good Omens: The House-Lizard Chirps Vedanta Deshika (1268-1369) From the Prologue of Mission of the Goose Leela Gandhi (b. 1966) Noun Waris Shah (1722-98) From Heer-Ranjha Mustansir Dalvi (b. 1964) Peabody Anon, Rajputana Folk Song The Jewel Knight Bilhana (c. 10 CE-12 CE) From Fifty Stanzas of a Thief Anon, Chhattisgarh Field Song Complaints Anon, Punjabi Song The Ballad of Laila Chandidas (c. 15 CE) The First Stage of Radha’s Love Shah ‘Madho Lal’ Husain (1539-93) Open the Book, Brother Brahmin Jayadeva (c. 12 CE) From Gita Govinda Song Seven Habba Khatoon (c. 16 CE) Let’s Go to the Upland Woods, My Friend Kutti Revathi (b. 1974) I’ve Brought This Summer Just for You Dom Moraes (1938-2004) Asleep Harsha (c. 12 CE) From Ratnavali Anon, Goan Folk Song (17 CE) On the Banks of a Lake Ilanko Atikal (c. 5 CE) From The Cilappatikaram, Canto 1 The Song of Praise Anon The Dalliance of the Leopards Anon Love Song Anon Distance Destroys Love Anon The Song of Phatmal (c. 1600 CE) Janna (12 CE-13 CE) From The Tale of the Glory-Bearer Cempulappeyanirar (c. 1 CE-3 CE) What He Said Allur Nanmullai (c. 1 CE-2 CE) What She Said Anon Song Annamayya (1408-1503) A Woman Talking to Herself Shah Abdul Latif (1689-1752) The Wayward Heart Anon (c. 9 CE) From The Muttollayiram His Infatuates Complain Mir Taqi Mir The Miracle of Wine
‘The broom’s the limit’
Amrita Pritam (1919-2005) Daily Wages Balraj Komal (b. 1928) Saba’s Hands Wear a Bridal Henna Tint Now Bhanudatta (c. 15 CE) From Bouquet of Rasa Balaram Das (c. 15 CE) From Lakshmi Purana Sutapa Bhattacharya (b. 1942) Draupadi Kamala Das (1934-2009) The Stone Age Cantirakanti (b. 1961) Wanted: A Broom Trilochan (1917-2007) Champa Doesn’t Know Her Alphabet Arundhathi Subramaniam (b. 1967) Tree Sumangala’s Mother (4 BCE) ‘Tis Well with Me Anon, Gujarati Folk Song My Husband’s Home Soma (c. 4 BCE) The Sceptic Says Rukmini Bhaya Nair (b. 1952) Paranomasia Harindra Dave (1930-95) The Speck Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan (b. 1935) Tar and Broom Mamta Kalia (b. 1940) Compulsions Tukaram (b. 1608-50) Where Did It Go Wrong? Anon, Rajputana Folk Song There Is No Limit to Desire Shakunt Mathur (b. 1920) Waiting Shobha Bhagwat (b. 1947) Husbands Bilqees Zafirul Hasan (b. 1938) Dignity Anon From The Gathasaptasati Let Faithful Wives Anon, Gujarati Folk Song Room Zoom Bihari (c. 16 CE) What One of Her Companions Said to Another
‘The sky between us’
Manohar Shetty (b. 1953) Personal Effects Anuradha Mahapatra (b. 1957) Cow and Grandmother Markanda Das (15 CE) From To the Cuckoo Shakti Chattopadhyay (1934-95) A Memory Comes Back Srinivas Rayaprol (1925-98) Married Love Dhurjati (16 CE) My Chest Has Been Worn Away G.S. Shivarudrappa (b. 1926) My Pocket Natwarlal Pandya ‘Ushnas’ (1920-2011) I, My Father Anon, Bodo Folk Song Marriage Song Madeshwara (c. 14 CE) From Male Madeshwara Gnanakoothan (b. 1938) Son to Mother Anjum Hasan (b. 1972) In My Mother’s Clothes B.S. Mardhekar (1909-56) Son-in-law Narasinh Mehta (1408-80) Here Is a Palanquin O.N.V. Kurup (b. 1931) Those Who Have Lost the Nectar Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi (b. 1933) In the Smell of Rice Fields in Autumn Daljit Nagra (b. 1966) In a White Town S.A. Usha (b. 1954) To Mother Anon, Satpura Folk Song On One Side of the Ganga Kampan (1180-1250) From the Ramayana Patalam 8; Jatayu Gives Up His Life Tulsidas (c. 1527-1623) From the Ramayana Childhood of Rama Vinda Karandikar (b. 1918) A Stalemate Adil Jussawalla (b. 1940) Colour Problems in the Family G.J.V. Prasad Desperately Seeking India Imtiaz Dharker Bombay, Mumbai Vinod Kumar Shukla Dhaulagiri
‘River of blood’
Keshav Malik (b. 1924) In Praise of Guns Sri Sri (1910-83) Really? From an oral political narrative (c. late 19 CE) The Bedas of Haligali Ajneya (1911-87) Hiroshima Amrita Pritam (1919-2005) Ode to Waris Shah Anon, Songs from the North (Kerala) From Unniyarcha and Aromal Unni Imtiaz Dharker (b. 1954) Gaddi Aa Gayi Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1911-84) The Morning of Freedom, 15th August 1947 Robin Ngangom (b. 1959) Flight Anon (c. 16 CE) From Purattirattu How Do I Know This Is My Son? Tenneti Suri (1911-58) Here Comes God K. Ayyappa Paniker (b. 1930) Philistines Auvaiyar (c. 100 BCE-250 CE) Elegy (for Anci) Khadar Mohiuddin (b. 1955) From Birthmark A Certain Fiction Bit Me Akbar Ilahabadi (1846-1921) Satirical Verses Rangrelo Bithu (16 CE) Praises Galore to the Land of Dhat Vanparanar (c. 100 BCE-250 CE) A Woman and Her Dying Warrior Sarala Das (15 CE) From the Mahabharata Mirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda (1713-80) From The State of the Realm Ajneya (1911-87) Kalemegdan Raghuvir Sahay (1929-90) Cycle Rickshaw Jaysinh Birjepatil (b. 1933) The Secunderabad Club Shrikant Varma (1931-86) Process Tabish Khair (b. 1966) Remembering Tiananmen Lakhmi Khilani (b. 1935) When That Day Comes Kunwar Narain (b. 1927) Ayodhya, 1992 Vyasa From the Mahabharata Bhishma and Parsurama Engage in Combat Book XI Gandhari’s Lament for the Slain Anon, Political Song This Night Is Endless Pash (1950-88) No, I Am Not Losing My Sleep Narayan Surve (b. 1926) Lifetime Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena (1927-83) Red Bicycle Nirala (1899-1961) Breaking Stones Chandrashekara Patil (b. 1939) Once Upon a Time Purandara Dasa (1484-1564) Where Are the Untouchables Gieve Patel (b. 1940) Continuum Anon From Bharath An Epic of the Dungri Bhils
‘Sleep on your left side’
Arvind Krishna Mehrotra (b. 1947) Bhojpuri Descant Bhavabhuti (c. 725 CE) From Act 2 Rama’s Last Act Gopal Honnalgere (1942-2003) How to Tame a Pair of New Chappals Dharmakirti (c. 7 CE) The Tradition Siddalingaiah (b. 1954) I Must Have a Word Vallana (c. 900 CE-1100 CE) The Oblique Invitation Ravidas (1376-1448) I’ve Never Known How to Tan or Sew Jibanananda Das (1899-1954) A Strange Darkness Kabir (c. 14 CE) Let’s Go Vemana (c. 17 CE/18 CE) Why Marry? Kanaka Ha Ma (b. 1964) Series of Omens Anon (c. 13 CE) From The Art of the Courtesan Ravji Patel (1939-68) That Afternoon Rabindranath Tagore (1866-1941) They Call You Mad From Jayavallabha’s Vajjalagam (c. 8 CE) What She Told Her Daughter about Unchaste Women The Dhammapada (c. 4 CE/5 CE) From The Fool Namdeo Dhasal (b. 1949) Stone Masons, My Father, and Me Kabir (c. 14 CE) Listen Carefully M. Gopalakrishna Adiga (1918-92) Do Something, Brother Asvaghosa(18 CE) From Buddhacarita Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih (b. 1964) Lines Written to Mothers Who Disagree with Their Sons’ Choices of Women Siddaramayya (12 CE) Know How to Tell Vijay Nambisan (b. 1963) Madras Central Sarangapani (18 CE) A Wife’s Complaint Devara Dasimayya (c. 11 CE) Fire Can Burn Hemacandra Suri (12 CE) O Learned Man Sami (1743-1850) Six Shastras, Eight Puranas, and Four Vedas Vijayalakshmi (b. 1960) What Shall We Sell Next? Anon From Sutrakritanga (c. 6 BCE-3 BCE) A Celibate Monk Shouldn’t Fall in Love A.K. Ramanujan (1929-93) The Guru
‘Light like ash’
Mamang Dai (b. 1959) A Stone Breaks the Sleeping Water Joy Goswami (b. 1954) A Mound of Earth, a Heart Pranabendu Dasgupta (b. 1937) Man: 1961 Anon, Kashmiri Song (c. 18 CE) Nostalgia B.B. Borkar (1910-84) Cemetery G.S. Sharat Chandra (1935-2000) Facts of Life Bhatti (c. 6 CE) From The Death of Ravana, Canto 18 Vibhishana’s Lament for Ravana Dursa Adha (1533-1654) On Hearing of Pratap’s Passing Away Adil Jussawalla (b. 1940) Nine Poems on Arrival Ramakanta Rath (b. 1934) Reports of Your Passing Indira Sant (1914-2000) Absence C.P. Surendran (b. 1959) The Colours of the Season’s Best Dream Kedarnath Singh (b. 1934) Remembering the Year 1947 Nita Ramaiya (b. 1941) The Year 1979 Gagan Gill (b. 1959) I Won’t Come and Tell You Eunice de Souza (b. 1940) Songs of Innocence Anon, Punjabi Song Life in the Desert Meena Alexander (b. 1951) Looking through Well Water The Dhammapada (c. 4 CE/5 CE) From Old Age Henry Derozio (1809-32) The Poet’s Grave Dom Moraes (1938-2004) Wrong Address Balmukund Dave (1916-93) Moving House B.C. Ramchandra Sharma (1925-2005) On the Death of a Friend Anon, Marsiya (c. 14 CE) Come, O Sisters, Let Us Wail for Our Brothers Toru Dutt (1856-77) Our Casuarina Tree Nida Fazli (b. 1938) Prayers for the Dead Waris Shah (c. 18 CE) From Kissa Heer Ranjha Writes to the Bhabis Kapilar (c. 3 BCE-2 CE) A Time Was When the Wine Cask Manmohan Ghose (1869-1924) Can It Be? Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1713-80) Lament of Old Age
Notes on the Poets Notes on the Translators Copyright Acknowledgements Footnotes
Introduction Smita Agarwal (b. 1958) Daywatch in the Scriptorium From the oral Kannada epic Halumatha Mahakavya Creation Myth Pravin Gadhvi (b. 1951) Shadow Shah ‘Madho Lal’ Husain (1539-93) Open the Book, Brother Brahmin Ajneya (1911-87) Kalemegdan Book XI Gandhari’s Lament for the Slain Notes on the Translators
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