All lovely things with beauty are,
And just deeds shine as just.
And faith and truth and duty are.
And is she only dust?
The great sky keeps its solemn blue:
Fresh earth is wildly fair.
Can all things be, and I and you—
She nothing, she nowhere?
English
Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1713-80)
Lament of Old Age
Your gaze travelled from my heart to my core (in such a fashion)
That in one glance it was both my love and my passion.
Where has the headiness of youth’s evening drink gone?
It’s time to get up and go, gone are the sweet dreams of dawn.
This bewitching pattern of footprints—to whom do they belong?
Was it my beloved scattering rose petals as she went along?
My (very) vision blinded me like a veil
As every eye fell upon your face unveiled.
I cannot tell the difference between yesterday and today
Since you left, all are the same, everything falls away.
Asadullah Khan, time has taken its toll and left you for dead
What happened to all the carousels, where’s youth fled?
Translated from the Urdu by Khushwant Singh
Notes on the Poets
This information is taken mainly from the books/sites in which the poets are represented.
Adha, Dursa (1533-1654) Rajasthani court poet contemporary of Akbar and of Rana Pratap.
Adiga, M. Gopalakrishna (1918-92) Poet, academic, editor, pioneer of Kannada Navya movement, also wrote fiction.
Adigal, Prince Ilango (c. 12 CE) Tamil poet and prince-turned ascetic (Jain?) . His Silappathikaram is considered ‘feminocentric,’ and is one of the most detailed works about the lives of temple courtesans.
Agarwal, Smita (b. 1958) Writes in English, teaches English literature at Allahabad University.
Ajneya or Agyeya (S.H. Vatsyayan) (1911-87) Hindi poet, fiction writer, playwright, editor, founded ‘New Poetry’ (Nai Kavita) in Hindi; experimentalist in other forms. According to Lucy Rosenstein, Agyeya’s writing has pushed back boundaries in big, difficult, passionate subjects.’
Akha (17 CE) Bhakti poet, from a goldsmith’s background, writing in Gujarati in the first half of 17 CE. He pioneered the use of satirical poems called chhappa.
Akkamahadevi (12 CE) Best-known of the saint-poets writing in Kannada at that time
Alexander, Meena (b. 1951) Poet writing in English and academic.
Ali, Aga Shahid (1949-2001) Poet writing in English, translator, academic. Amaru (c. 800 CE) Classical Sanskrit poet.
Anapiyya (Seyyitu Anapiyya Pulavar, Tamil translation of Arabic ‘Sayyid Hanafiya’) (19 CE) Used Tamil devotional form of pillaittamil to write poems in praise of the Prophet Muhammad.
Andal (9 CE) Kannada poet; the only woman poet among the Alvars, worshippers of Vishnu.
Annamacharya/Annamayya (1408-1503) Telugu saint-poet said to ‘represent to perfection the Telugu temple poet.’
Arvind (b. 1950) Writes in Dogri.
Asvaghosa (c. 1 CE) Buddhist poet; wrote in Sanskrit.
Aurobindo, Sri (1872-1950) Revolutionary, poet writing in English, aesthetician and seer. While his poetry is not in favour today, he can still be read as a sharp critic.
Auvaiyar (100 BCE-250 CE) Classical Tamil poet; the best-known of the classical women poets. She is represented here by her elegy for Anci, her chieftan.
Bana (7 CE) Sanskrit poet and prose writer. A.L. Basham writes, ‘Bana’s outlook has more in common with the 20th century than has that of any other early Indian writer.’
Barhat, Essar Das (1538-1618) Rajasthani saint-poet.
Basavanna (1106-1167/68) Kannada saint-poet and social reformer, believed to have founded the Veerashaiva sect, devoted to Siva, tried to simplify religion, disliked ritual, believed in the equality of sexes.
Bhagwat, Shobha (b. 1947) Marathi poet and director of Balbhavan, a recreational centre for children in Pune.
Bhanudatta (16 CE) Sanskrit poet and aesthetician whose patron may have been the Nizam of Ahmadnagar. His descriptions of the heroines and heroes of Sanskrit literature inspired painters from Mewar and Basholi, and celebrated commentators. Translator Sheldon I. Pollock describes the poet as ‘probably the most famous Sanskrit poet that no one today has ever heard of. While many books have covered the same subjects as Bouquet of Rasa and River of Rasa, no one, Pollock adds, has done so with such exquisite and subtle artistry’.
Bharati, Subramania (1882-1921) Though he died young, he achieved a great deal in various spheres and is considered one of India’s greatest poets. A militant nationalist, he composed nationalist poems and songs. Though born in an orthodox Brahmin family, he felt strongly about the emancipation of women, and the indignities of the caste system. He edited papers in both Tamil and in English, and is said to have been the first to introduce political cartoons in newspapers.
Bharath Has existed in the tradition of the Dungri Bhils for centuries, kept alive by oral renditions.
Bhattacharya, Hiren (b. 1932) One of the pioneers of modern poetry in Assam.
Bhattacharya, Susmita (b. 1947) Bangla poet and teacher, feminist activist.
Bhattacharya, Sutapa (b. 1942) Poet writing in Bangla; academic.
Bhartrhari (c. 400 CE) Classical Sanskrit poet (possibly grammarian and philosopher as well); wrote some of the best-known verse-sequences, often torn between religious feeling and sensuality.
Bhatti (6 CE) Sanskrit poet who lived in south India. His The Death of Ravana is both the story of Rama and an illustrative text of grammar and poetics once codified by the grammarian Panini. This classical epic is considered a bold experiment, a ‘rich mix of science and art.’ It continues to be widely influential among Sanskritists, and is considered the source text for the Old Javanese Ramayana.
Bhavabhuti (c. 725 CE) Classical Sanskrit poet and dramatist A.L. Basham has written that ‘his greatness rests on his deep understanding of sorrow’.
Bilhana (c. 11 CE-12 CE) Kashmiri poet; wrote deeply emotional love poetry in Sanskrit.
Bihari (17 CE) Court poet in Amber considered foremost love poet of Hindi poetry in the Braj dialect of the time.
Birjepatil, Jaysinh (b. 1933) Taught English literature at M. S. University of Baroda.
Bithu, Rangrelo (16 CE) Rajasthani satirical poet who did not hesitate to make fun of his king, Rawal Har of Jaisalmer, who promptly threw him into prison, until another king intervened on his behalf.
Bordoloi, Nirmal Prabha (b. 1933) Assamiya poet, fiction writer, journalist and academic; has written on Assamiya folk culture, and fiction for children.
Borkar, B. B. (1910-84) Konkani poet, wrote poetry, fiction and biography in Marathi, poetry in Konkani and Marathi.
Bose, Buddhadeva (1908-74) Wrote in Bengali and in English, poetry, short stories, plays, literary criticism, translations. He set up the department of comparative literature at Jadavpur University, and in 1935 founded a quarterly dedicated to poetry, Kabita, which he edited for about twenty-five years.
Buddha, Gautam (c. 563 BCE-483 BCE) The Dhammapada, mainly a work on ethics, is traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself. The teachings were compiled and written down by his disciples. The Pali version is said to be the most popular, though there are three Sanskrit versions and also versions in other languages.
Cakrabartti, Ma Basanti (writing in Bangla since the 1970s) Head of her own ashram in Kolkota and one of the very few women writing hymns in the Uma and Kali sakta tradition.
Cantirakanti (b. 1961) Writes poetry and short stories in Tamil.
Cellatturai, Arul (mid-20 CE) Tamil (Catholic) poet and engineer; published first book in 1985, in Tamil devotional genre adapted to Baby Jesus.
Cempulappeyanirar (c. 1 CE-3 CE) Classical Tamil poet; the name literally means ‘red earth and pouring rain’ a reference to the poet’s ‘si
gnature’ line.
Chakravarty, Amiya (1901-86) Bangla poet, Rabindranath Tagore’s literary secretary from 1926-33; accompanied him on his travels abroad, including his trips to Iraq and Iran. Also closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi and took part in the Salt March in 1930. He was awarded a DPhil by Oxford University where he was senior research fellow. Taught in various universities in the UK, USA and in India. Chakravarti Nirendranath (b. 1924) Bangla poet who became known as a major poet in the 1950s, critic, journalist, also writes fiction, writes for children; president of Paschimbangla Akademi.
Chandidas Bangla poet, dates given vary, also identity, as there were at least four poets of that name but is thought to have lived before Chaitanya (1485-1533)
Chandra, G.S. Sharat (1935-2000) Wrote poems and short stories in English, was professor of creative writing at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
Chattopadhyay, Shakti (1934-95) Wrote in Bangla, a leading member of the ‘Hungry’ poets.
Chaudhuri, Bahinabai (1880-1951) composed her poems in a mixture of two Marathi dialects spoken in the northern area of Maharashtra where she lived. She used the ovi metre of songs sung when grinding grain. Her son wrote down her poems as she was illiterate, and later published them after her death.
Chitre, Dilip (b. 1938) Writes in Marathi and English, poetry, fiction, plays, translations.
Chullikkad, Balachandran (b. 1957) Writes in Malayalam; complete poems published in 2000, and his memoirs the year after. He is also a film and TV actor.
Coda, Naane (12 CE) Telugu poet. His work is said to have disappeared from sight even in medieval times but was re-discovered at the end of the nineteenth century. His translators note that he ‘clearly has a conception of a regional, desi, tradition evolving in Telugu, in contrast with Sanskrit.’
Dabral, Mangalesh (b. 1948) Writes in Hindi, journalist, editor, translator.
Dai, Mamang (b. 1959) Writes in English, abandoned a career in the IAS for journalism.
Dalvi, Mustansir (b. 1964) Professor of architecture, associate editor of online poetry workshop Desert Moon Review and editor of bi-annual online journal Crescent Moon.
Darab, Aziz Bano (1934-2005) Wrote in Urdu.
Daruwalla, Keki N. (b. 1937) A formidable and prolific writer; has published poetry, fiction, essays in English, served in the IPS, and for six months was special assistant to former prime minister Charan Singh. His work contains a wide range of landscapes, inner and outer, and a wide range of textures—irony, compassion, humour. He has a deep interest in history and in the way people lived, but, as he says, he is not interested in facile allegories for the present.
Das, Balaram (16 CE) Oriya poet often persecuted because he dared to write about religious subjects though he was considered a shudra.
Das, Devadurllabha (16 CE) Oriya writer of devotional hymns.
Das, Jibanananda (b. 1899-1954) Considered the most important poet in Bengal after Tagore. As one of his translators, Joe Winter, says, ‘He does not limit his vision to the chaotic, the disconnected, the bizarre; but is able to map out the edges of the incompleteness that inhabits us, by taking a full account of beauty too.’ Clinton B. Seely has written a biography of the poet called A Poet Apart (1990).
Das, J. P. (b. 1936) Oriya poet, playwright, fiction writer, civil servant. He is also a well-known art historian.
Das, Kamala (1934-2009) Wrote in English and Malayalam; produced fiction, autobiography, poetry; the first major woman writer in English and perhaps the most controversial in the post-Independence era.
Das, Markanda (15 CE) Probably the first poet of Oriya literature in its formative period; his poem ‘Keshab Koili’ is considered the earliest example of cuckoo ‘musing’ poems. ‘Koili’ means cuckoo while ‘Keshab’ refers to Krishna.
Das, Sarala (15 CE) Considered the father of Oriya poetry as he was the first to adapt the Mahabharata, not just by using Oriya but also making interesting deviations such as the Pandavas visiting holy places in Orissa, many references to the landscape and Oriya folklore and customs. He was not a Brahmin and it was considered outrageous/brave for him to have dealt with sacred texts in his writing.
Dasa, Purandara (1480-1564) One of the great saint-poets in Kannada.
Dasgupta, Pranabendu (b. 1937) Writes in Bangla, well-known poet of the 1950s, professor of comparative literature.
Dasimayya, Devara (10 CE) One of the earliest Veerashaiva Kannada saint-poets, dedicated to ‘Ramanatha’, Rama’s lord Shiva. Tradition has it that he stopped his extreme ascetic practices on the advice of Shiva who urged him to be more involved in the world. He became a weaver and a famous teacher.
Datta, Jyotirmoy (b. 1936) Poet, journalist, editor, teacher; writes in Bangla and in English.
Dave, Balmukund (1916-93) wrote in Gujarati; worked for thirty years with the Gandhian publishing house Navjivan, later edited a periodical published by them.
Dave, Harindra (1930-95) Gujarati poet, novelist, critic, and editor of various Gujarati papers and periodicals.
Ded, Lal (c. 1330-84) (sometimes known as Lal Dyad) Kashmiri poet. A Brahmin girl married at the age of twelve into an unsympathetic family, she left to become a wandering ascetic in the Shaivite tradition. Her compact, aphoristic verses in a four-line form called vakh use both philosophical terminology and homely metaphors.
Derozio, Henry (1809-32) First Indian poet to write in English, key figure in the Bengal Renaissance. A commentator writes, Derozio ‘did more to impart the idea of young India than any other person of his times. A teacher, philosopher and poet, Derozio brought the first waves of European enlightenment into the new education system that was then taking shape.’
Deshika, Vedanta (Venkatanatha) (1268-1369) Described as a theologian, one of the most influential after Ramanuja. ‘Mission of the Goose’ (Hamsasandesa) is a ‘messenger poem’ which makes the occasional dig at Kalidasa. The note on the title says that the ‘ultimate godhead is often pictured as a goose that lives in both worlds—the heavens and the water on earth.’ In this poem Rama sends a message to Sita through the goose. In his ‘Compassion’ he sings his sorrow to the goddess Compassion. A note on the poem says that later Sanskrit poets often wrote ‘personal, often iconoclastic modes, using Sanskrit to reflect back on itself and its long tradition.’
de Souza, Eunice (b. 1940) Poet writing in English, novelist, editor, academic.
Dey, Bishnu (1909-87) Bangla poet, academic, translator, has written a book in English on aesthetics entitled In the Sun and Rain, and books on the paintings of Jamini Roy and Rabindranath Tagore. Wrote cinema criticism and was involved with IPTA. Influenced both by Marxism and T.S. Eliot’s constant references to esoteric myths, books, etc., in his poems. Reacting against Tagore’s poetry, he and others associated with a group around the journal Kallol that incorporated modern concepts of doubt and conflict.
Dharker, Imtiaz (b. 1954) Poet writing in English, documentary film-maker, artist, describes herself as ‘A Scottish Muslim Calvinist, brought up in a Lahori household in Glasgow.’ Now travels between the UK, where she lives, and India.
Dharmakirti (c. 700 CE) Buddhist philosopher and poet, born in south India, studied and taught at the Buddhist school of logic at Nalanda.
Some of his verses encapsulate Buddha’s teaching against caste and against the dogma of creation. But, as with other scholars and religious figures, his poetry includes themes of ambivalence about love. Love may be a delusion or last for a very brief time, but he still cannot forget the ‘gazelle-eyed girl.’
Dhasal, Namdeo (b. 1949) Marathi Dalit poet. His first book of poems, Golpitha, is about the red-light area of that name in Mumbai where he was brought up. Dilip Chitre who has translated a selection of his work describes him as a ‘Poet of the Underworld.’ He founded the Dalit Panthers in 1972, inspired partly by revolutionary movements abroad.
Dhoomil/Dhumil (1935-75) Hindi poet. Taught electrical engineering in Varanasi.
Dhurjati (16 CE) Said to be the first Telugu poet to w
rite what could be called an entirely subjective poem.
Dikshita, Nilakantha (1580-1644) Played an important part as a minister to the king of Madurai, Tirumalai Nayaka, and according to the account given by the publishers and translators, he also ‘embodied the new poetic ethos of his time. “Peace” is a mordantly ironic, self-deprecating, and highly introspective work.’
Divate, Hemant (b. 1967) One of the better-known poets writing in Marathi today, runs a publishing house called Abhidhanantar for Marathi books and Poetrywala, for English. Has been editing a poetry quarterly, also called Abhidhanantar for several years. Widely translated in Indian and foreign languages.
Doshi, Tishani (b. 1975) Writes in English. She is also a dancer who worked with the choreographer Chandralekha in Chennai. Won the Forward Poetry Prize for best first collection in 2006.
Dutt, Greece Chunder (1833-92) Wrote in English, part of the Dutt family of Bengal.
Dutt, Michael Madhusudan (1824-73) Bangla poet who began by writing in English and then switched to Bangla. Considered one of the great poets of Bengal, he experimented with diction and verse forms and introduced both the sonnet and the blank verse. His most famous work is Meghanada Badha written in 1861, and based on a story from the Ramayana.
Dutt, Toru (1856-77) The most well-known of the Dutt family, poet, novelist, translator, wrote in English and in French.
Eknath (1533-99) One of the great saints of Maharashtra, poet, commentator on religious texts. Born in Paithan, a centre of Sanskrit learning and Brahmin orthodoxy, he became a reformist who rejected untouchability, and taught in Marathi.
Ezekiel, Nissim (1924-2004) Leading post-Independence poet writing in English, academic, also wrote plays, art and literary criticism. ‘I cannot leave the island/I was born here and belong,’ he writes in ‘Island’. Gieve Patel, who wrote the introduction to the collected poems, writes, ‘For all the poet’s stated aim to write clear and direct verse, in many of the best poems there are finely shaded inner movements, requiring an acutely tuned register to pick them up’.
Ezhuthacchan (c. 16 CE) Wrote in Malayalam, a ‘father-figure in modern Malayalam’ because he standardized the language which he felt was too influenced by both Sanskrit and Tamil.
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