Reviewer: Aparna Singh
Mandal Dhwani, edited by Alka Tyagi, is the Hindi translation of Mandalas of Time, originally written in English by writer and academic Malashri Lal. A collection of seventy-five poems, it offers a rich tapestry of experiences and insights that seamlessly align the mythical with the contemporary, the past with the present, and the visible with the invisible contours of the Indian nation. The reader, moving from the dulcet brown book cover of the original to the azure blue of the translation, unpacks a poetic self intricately woven with rebellion and heartbreak, as much with ecstasy as with hope.
The translation’s preface by Anamika brilliantly encapsulates the myriad journeys these poems undertake as time and space intersect, producing layered connotations. Deeply imbued with philosophical, cultural, social, and ecological resonances, the poems generate distinctively imagined spatio-temporal landscapes, delving into a multilayered cosmos.
Reflecting on her formative experiences, Lal remarks:
“इसी शहर के एक अंग्रेज़ी माध्यम पब्लिक स्कूल में मैंने शिक्षा प्राप्त की, जिसकी स्थापना शुरू में राजपूत परिवारों की लड़कियों की पढ़ाई के लिए हुई थी, लेकिन जिसे बाद में स्वतंत्र भारत की नई आधुनिकता का हिस्सा बनने की कोशिश करने वाली सभी छात्राओं के लिए खोल दिया गया था।”
The school’s visionary founders sought to blend Western and Indian traditions, fostering a global consciousness among women navigating their place in an emerging nation. Here, Shakespeare and Wordsworth coexisted with Hindi and Sanskrit literary traditions, shaping Lal’s literary sensibilities.
Her familial roots extended beyond Jaipur to Kolkata and Santiniketan, where some of her ancestors collaborated with Rabindranath Tagore during the early years of Visva-Bharati. This exposure aligned her poetic voice with a broad literary spectrum—ranging from Bangla and Indian literary traditions to even Scottish ballads—signifying the beginnings of a cosmopolitan literary culture.
Later, Delhi, particularly her tenure at Delhi University’s English Department and as Director of the Centre for Feminist Studies, provided her with a space to engage deeply with Indian literary traditions, linguistic structures, and feminist discourse. These intellectual explorations significantly influenced her writing and teaching.
Allusions to the Ramayana and Mahabharata in her poetry reflect a deep-seated desire to navigate the anguish of encountering a world resistant to transformation. In the evocative introduction to her poems, Lal eloquently outlines the varied cultural ambiences that shaped her imagination. Pondering the insider-outsider dynamic, she observes:
“यह एक ऐसा सम्मिश्रण था जो मेरी धमनियों में बह रहा था। इसके परिणामस्वरूप कभी तो मुझे विभिन्न जगहों से संबंधित होने के परम आनंद का अनुभव होता तो कभी कहीं से भी संबंधित न होने की निराशा घेर लेती।”
Her poetic journey, then, is as much about coming to terms with life’s challenges as it is about understanding the larger forces at play—forces that are continuously reshaped by India’s living mythology.
The first poem, अर्धनारीश्वर (Ardhanareesvara), is a powerful testament to her belief in the coexistence of the feminine and the masculine as inseparable and equally bound forces:
"स्त्रीत्व-पौरुष हैं एक ही सिक्के के दो पहलू,
शब्द एक उलटबांसियों में पढ़े जाते अलग-अलग,
एक दूसरे में प्रतिबिम्बित।" (25)
सीता की रसोई (Sita ki Rasoi) intertwines the mythical, the domestic, and the public, transforming the kitchen into a microcosm of the nation. The simple act of preparing food becomes a meditation on inequality:
"टेढ़ी-मेढ़ी रोटियों
का बराबर-बराबर हिस्सा कैसे हो?" (26)
Lal’s empathetic gaze extends to the pain and marginalization of migrant women, critically ill individuals in need of care, those with fading memories, and those trapped in the liminal space between home and homelessness. In केवल महिलाओं के लिए (Ladies Special), she reconfigures the meaning of space, transforming a railway platform—often associated with homelessness—into an adopted home:
"रतलाम स्टेशन पर सधे हुए हाथ उसे प्लेटफार्म पर ले आते हैं,
…
पूजा की तिरछी निगाहों को दिखाई देता है
एक शिकन भरा चेहरा।
'यही घर है'— वह क्षीण स्वर में बुदबुदाती है,
'इन अजनबियों के बीच, जिन्होंने गर्भनाल को काट कर
मेरे नवजात शिशु का पोषण किया है।'" (81-82)
The poems engage in dialogues with the self (or selves) at crossroads, exploring an existential temporal loop—one that is both alluring and inescapable. Echoing T. S. Eliot’s Burnt Norton, which suggests a concept of time where past, present, and future coexist simultaneously, Lal’s poetry navigates an eternal present, capable of being redeemed through significant moments.
In सीता और महामारी (Sita and the Pandemic), time and timelessness converge as the world is reconfigured through the lens of mythology:
"मैं अशोक वाटिका में कैद थी
जब रावण का कुंठित क्रोध मुझ पर बरसा
आज यह दुनिया ही अशोक वाटिका है
अब इसे लॉकडाउन कहते हैं।" (73)
The theme of inescapability reaches a poignant crescendo in छुटकारा (Escape):
"वह घर छोड़ कर जाती है, लेकिन जा नहीं पाती।" (75)
A unique feature of Mandal Dhwani is its translation by multiple hands, which, rather than fragmenting the poetic voice, enhances its collective resonance. Lal notes that this multiplicity reminds us of the communal nature of poetry gatherings and symposia.
As Alka Tyagi aptly observes in the blurb:
“Mandalas of Time की कविताओं में सपने हैं, सच्चाई है, विनम्रता है और प्रार्थनाएँ हैं, जो न केवल अपने और पराए के दायरे को लगातार तोड़ती हैं, बल्कि मनुष्य को प्रकृति की बनाई हर वस्तु को समतल रखकर देखती हैं।”
The poems in Mandal Dhwani possess an ineffable healing quality—offering a salve that mends through myth and memory, both individual and collective. A tour de force in poetic introspection, they also resonate with an unflinching meditation on exile, gender, and displacement. More than just a linguistic transposition, Mandal Dhwani is a profound reimagining of Malashri Lal’s poetic exploration of time, mythology, and existential contemplation.
Aparna Singh
Aparna Singh is academic, poet, editor and reviewer. She is the author of the short story collection Periodic Tales and one of the poets of the poetry collection Three Witches’ Songs. Periodic Tales received the Special Mention award at the Nissim International Prize for literature 2023.