Shrikant Verma’s Magadh was first published in 1984. Considered to be an important work of Hindi literature, it has now been translated into English by Rahul Soni for a wider audience. Verma’s poetry explores profound themes of existentialism, socio-political conflicts, the fragility of power as well as the intricacies of the human condition. His verses stand out for their use of layered metaphors that are often based on historical cities such as Avanti, Ujjaini, Kshipra and Vaishali, as well as emperors such as Ashoka and Ajatashatru. The poet deftly exposes the present via the prism of the past, making the work equally relevant for today’s readers. In his literary exploration, the past is no more a distant memory. It is rather a vessel holding the wisdom and insight required for the future.
That Soni wanted to keep the essence of the poem intact, and merely become the medium to popularise Verma’s lines, is clear. The translator holds on to the evocative imagery of the original, and its distinctively simple style, both typical of the poet’s craftsmanship.
Verma was an active politician––a rare occurrence in the literary world. Delhi University professor, Apporvanand, writes in the foreword for Soni’s translation, “He (Shrikant) was a seeker of power, one who used his creative energy to perpetuate it.” While Verma remains a key figure in Hindi literature’s Nayi Kavita movement––it revolutionised poetry in the language, allowing writers to break away from the Sanskritised verses and address issues of social unrest, inequality etc.––he wasn’t as mainstream as Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’, Mahadevi Verma or Maithilisharan Gupt. The complexity of his themes, despite the simplicity of language, kept his work restricted to a certain esoteric literary crowd.
Soni’s translation is, therefore, a starting point to make the versatile poet part of popular literary discourses. Many of his poems tend to push readers to read the original. Horseman is one. It flows in
a somewhat Socratic method of asking and answering questions, and has a tinge of the Theseus’s paradox. At its core are existential thoughts peculiar to Indian context.
It begins: “Is a horseman who goes to Kalinga the same when he returns?” It uses the site of one of the deadliest wars in Indian history as a metaphor for ethics and morality. For, it was also the war that transformed Ashoka into a devout follower of dharma. Another poem, Disillusionment of a Courtesan from the Time of Buddha, questions the mortality of the human body through a sorrowful tale of a courtesan, an oft-used subject among authors in many languages, including Hindi and Urdu.
The challenge with translating poetry is not just getting the essence of the original right, but also the rhythm of the verses. The lilt of the syntax is what keeps the reader going, for which, linguistic precision is imperative. Thankfully, Soni, who has translated and edited several important poems, including Ashok Vajpeyi’s A Name for Every Leaf, was a sound choice for the job.
Magadh
By: Shrikant Verma
Translated by: Rahul Soni
Publisher: Westland
Pages: 176
Price: Rs 399