Review: Magadh by Shrikant Verma, translated by Rahul Soni

To think of Magadh only as a poetry collection would be a gross underestimation of the ambition and seething rage of Shrikant Verma’s poetry. In their simple yet sharp rendition into English by Rahul Soni, these poems look like plain, unadorned ruminations about Magadh and the other Mahajanapadas around it. For such monarchies to survive, he argues, dissolution of thought and reason is needed, as a result of which, people become mere puppets in the hands of rulers: The crowdis saying in one voice -Weare happy!Maharaj,as many timesas they tell youtell them -‘My people!/Stay happy’ - The Style of Kosal Or No one even interruptsfor fearof interruptionbecoming the custom in Magadh - Interference Verma does this, not with the righteousness of an uninvolved writer, but with the dismay of an insider frustrated by the acquiescence of the people. Some of the most moving poems are also personal ones where Verma ruminates on the toll of living the contradictory life of a poet: I could have saved myselfbut how could I Those who save themselves cannot create - Offering It is perhaps this acknowledgement of the stranglehold of duality and the poet’s desperation to creep out of it that gives Magadh its unparalleled ferocity and urgency.