I do not normally review books of poetry but this deserves attention because it is not just a “collection of poems.” Nor is it confined to raising a critical question raised by Ekalavya from the Mahabharata who asks Dronacharya why did his ‘mentor’ and ‘guru’ from whom he never trained in archery physically, ask him to cut off the thumb of his right hand.
Was this because he was afraid of being castigated by Arjuna, his royal disciple, who, he had promised, would become the best archer in history?
Or, was it because he knew that Ekalava belonged to a lower caste and was not eligible to train in archery?
Whatever be it, Ekalavya went better and trained himself to shoot his arrow with the help of his forefinger and middle finger and became as much an expert as he was before he cut off his thumb as “guru dakshina.”
But the poems are not confined to only Ekalavya or his other mythological peers. The 100 poems in free verse cover an entire range of subjects from the Mahabharata to modern times covering every human rights issue arising out of Manipur, Covid 19, Chuni Kotal’s Query and many more.
Sanjukta Dasgupta, in spite of having been a hard core academic and a brilliant scholar of English literature, lets the political dimension of her personality ride free of academic inhibitions and yet reveal, layer by slow layer, her acknowledgment, recognition and strong comment on international issues, on national issues converting her passion for language into a knife, a sword, an arrow and a whiplash, as and when she chooses to draw from her armoury to shock, hit, kill, hurt, injure and scar as and when.
Mythology has had a significant influence on poetry throughout history, with poets drawing inspiration from various mythological traditions. Mythological references in poetry play an important role in conveying complex themes and concepts, adding depth and richness to the poetic language.
Poets have drawn inspiration from various mythological traditions, using mythological references to convey complex themes and concepts in their poetry. Some examples are Eurydice to Orpheus by Robert Browning, A Hymn to Bacchus by Robert Herrick, Argus by Alexander Pope, Orpheus by William Shakespeare and so on.
Says Dasgupta about her choice of Ekalavya, “in defiance of all platitudes in myths and epics, the algorithms of the pre-industrial age, I decided, in the 21st century Ekalavya should become vocal- he should speak, question, challenge and demand answers about his sudra caste status, his invisibility, his voice-lessness and the sly way in which through generations and centuries, thousands of Ekalavyas have been shorn of their extraordinary talents and powers and brought down to their knees by those who exerted their dominance due to the accident of birth- the Brahmanical legacy.”
The phrase “accident of birth” comes up again and again in her writings and her poetry very seamlessly uses form and content and language like a two-edged sharpened knife enough to cut through your senses to question yourself about the dramatic changes happening around you such as Covid, or, “Death” and so on.
She throws up poetry as a socio-political statement that is a scathing critique of mythological, political and great leaders such as in The Coffee Shop (page 62) which surrealistically recreates martyred Gods and leaders like Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Joan of Arc, Abraham Lincoln. John Kennedy, Che Guevara, Indira Gandhi, Rajeev Gandhi, Steve Biko and John Lennon gathered to share a cup of coffee in a coffee shop powerfully suggesting the reality, the suddenness and the irrational order of death among men today known as martyrs.
In Search of Peace, an 11-line poem right after this one, talks about the evolution in the weapons and strategy of modern warfare which has reduced the human identity from an assertion to a question of existence. Tough Nut again, is an angular attack on poets and poetry. What’s In A Name? is a satiric attack on how our God’s names are quite casually identified with marginal people whose parents christened them with names like Durga, who cooks, or Lakshmi, who mops, while Saraswati washes clothes and Lakshman drives the care while “The Gods laugh as we rant and stride” while “We use and abuse them as we do not care nor fear.” In Manipur (Page 51) she writes:
Cry bejeweled Manipur
Cry, beloved land,
Your innocent people
Denuded, devastated
Ravished, abused
Drenched in blood
Branded blood groups
In a killing spree
All in the name of God.
The phrase “accident of birth” comes up in her writings and her poetry very smoothly and seamlessly uses form, content and language like a two-edged sharpened knife enough to cut through your senses to question yourself about the dramatic changes happening around you such as Covid, or, “Death” and so on.
Her works bring out the angst the poet holds within. In terms of choice of subjects in her poems, Dasgupta covers the entire canvas of human experience she has garnered through her life, her extensive travels across the world and a major slice of her life spent in reading, teaching, learning and re-learning not only English Literature which she taught for many years but all that reaches beyond the framework of Literature to touch Life, Love, Tragedy, Death, Disappointments and most importantly – disillusions.
Ekalavya Speaks strips itself of all ideas of romanticism as we commonly understand it, even of lyricism and odes to Nature but zeroes in on the human, the humane and the inhuman, not necessarily in that order. In her earlier collections such as Sita’s Sisters and Indomitable Draupadi, her focus was on gender discrimination that was embedded in the lives of most women in Hindu mythology and questions this not necessarily through a gender lens but more through the humane lens, questioning the injustice all the way.
The production values of the book are excellent, especially the cover illustration showing Ekalavya captured in silhouette against a graduated, indigo backdrop, captured in silhouette, the binding and the font as well. Her writing style is fluid, easy-going yet sharp and edgy.
Says Sanjukta, “in the 21st century, in these poems, Ekalavya not just claims identity and agency, Ekalavya not just speaks, notice Ekalavya’s unprecedented mobility- Ekalavya this evening has pole vaulted into the super elite some even say that it has its nose in the stratosphere- the grand heritage Bengal club- and that perhaps is a fitting re-birth for Ekalavya in the 21st century- both in terms of space and time.
EKALAVYA SPEAKS – A COLLECTION OF POEMS by SANJUKTA DASGUPTA, PENPRINTS, WEST BENGAL, 2023, 166 PAGES, PRICE: RS.300.