Poetic, personal & political

Four feisty women’s works made it to the annual Sahitya Akademi Awards 2024 list — Paul Kaur’s ‘Sun Gunvanta Sun Budhivanta: Itihaasnama Punjab’ (in Punjabi), Gagan Gill’s ‘Main Jab Tak Aayi Baahar’ (in Hindi), Easterine Kire’s ‘Spirit Night’ (in English) and Haobam Satyabati Devi’s ‘Mainu Bora Nungshi Sheirol’ (in Manipuri).

Paul, Gagan and Satyabati Devi have published remarkable poetry in recent decades that combats patriarchy, gender stereotypes, state violence and religious bigotry. Easterine, in her novels on Naga people’s lives, has introduced readers to another world rooted in tribal cultural identity. The writings of these women have been both armour and weapon, and at times, codes of self and social transformation.

‘Sun Gunvanta…’ is a poetic account of Punjab’s history covering almost a millennium. Written entirely in verse, the narrative weaves stories of Punjab’s pirs, fakirs and yogis through the early years of Sikh history, ending with the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh empire. The work brings alive not just historical events but ideas and philosophies that shaped the landscape of Punjab.

Paul (also called Pal) has also published ‘Hun Ni Mardi Nirmala’ (a collection of poems which mirror the struggles of grassroots people). Her poem entitled ‘Hun Ni Mardi Nirmala’ is based on house help Nirmala, who fights domestic abuse and aspires to be an independent woman. In another collection, ‘The Wild Weed: Selected Poems’, Paul appears to weave anger and anguish in her words about ordinary existence and global affairs: strapped sandals, long tresses (both shackling), selfie (obsession with oneself), wild weed (free-spirited and strong), Urban Naxal (a label for those who question) and Osama bin Laden (villain or victim).

Paul’s personal traumas tempered her political voice and shaped it with a feminine, humanistic tone. Born in a village in Punjab, Paul was the sixth daughter in her family (that also included sons). Her father, a poet of spiritual verse, did not talk to her mother for a month, expressing his displeasure over birthing another daughter. He did not talk to Paul for years. His long years of rejection ached her, but also stirred her to fight against patriarchy. She wrote in one of her poems that infants recognise their fathers by their turbans, while she recognised hers by the shape of his back. By the time she retired as a professor from SA Jain College in Ambala, Paul had created a niche for herself as a poet of substance in Punjab’s literary circles.

The recent Akademi Award has assured Paul that she is on the right track. Writing people’s history in verse is daunting and she laboured for more than a decade on ‘Sun Gunvanta…’ The award is a “relief” and has strengthened her resolve to bring out the next volume.

Gagan Gill was taken by surprise at the announcement of the award that she says has catapulted her into a galaxy of renowned writers. But she knows the award is also a reminder that she needs to write more, speak out more. Gagan primarily writes in an intimate voice — her words enter silently in complex terrains: loss and memory, death and grieving, which includes Ram’s grief and repentence for Sita in her poem ‘Ayodhya’.

In ‘Main Jab Tak Aayi Baahar’, Gagan’s poems often address a supreme being, a universal force. She questions this force, challenges its wisdom and laments its apathy at human suffering. “It saddens me to see how we understand faith today.” She insists that faith should expand the belief in human equality, bring everyone at par. But people fight in the name of their deities rather than letting the deities fight for their cause. This is a paradox for her. “Gods don’t need to be rescued by us.” In her awarded collection, she laments that someone has locked the doors to all temples from outside, they cannot be opened now. Truly, the world has changed beyond recognition.

Gagan’s first poetry collection, ‘Ek Din Lautegi Ladki’, broadcast women’s voices and surfaced political events. Later collections recorded the struggle of dealing with long spells of grief and alienation. She published ‘Main Jab…’ in 2018, after a gap of more than a decade. Has the larger-than-life persona of her late husband Nirmal Verma, famous writer and pioneer of the Nai Kahani (New Story) movement in Hindi literature, influenced her writing? She thinks she underwent an unconscious struggle to not allow his powerful imagery to creep into her writings. “I wanted to be a person of my own,” she says.

For Easterine, who is also a children’s book writer and jazz player now settled in Norway, telling stories of her people (the Nagas) has been both a playful and profound journey. In ‘Spirit Nights’, ancient prophecies, taboos, customs and beliefs weave a world lived by the Chang Naga tribe. Their village is suddenly engulfed in darkness — the sun appears to have been ‘eaten by the tiger’. The novel represents the spiritual crisis in human life, and the eternal conflict between good (humans) and evil (tiger). Through her novels, Easterine has introduced readers to the tribal histories of Nagaland, a state that has witnessed prolonged violence.

The prose and verses of Satyabati Devi capture the agony and misery of conflict-torn Manipur, a state that continues to simmer. ‘Mainu Bora Nungshi Sheirol’ encapsulates a rich tapestry of Manipuri culture and identity. This collection of poems lends voice to the unheard Northeast. The author in the past has often spoken against the curtailment of freedoms, emphasising the need for more literary collaborations between diverse Indian cultures. Like other winners, Satyabati Devi, too, has personal stories invading the larger socio-political spaces. She too believes that the personal can be political.

— The writer is a contributor based in New Delhi