BEING RADHA
BEYOND THE LOVE AND HIS LEELA
The book that quite literally made me cry… I had – either tears or a
wetness in my eyes, intermittently – with the flow of the story, and a faint
melancholy yet warm feeling in the depths of my heart as I read through this
evocative book of poems. This is a book that will touch you and leave you
richer for the experience; and, as you close the last page, the words stay with
you, giving you peace, calm and an understanding… 5 stars!
THE BOOK
This is the story of Radha; Radha, who is close to our hearts due to the
famous Radha-Krushn divine lovers, Radhe-Krushn who our a part of our lives and
our hearts through stories, temples and even idioms, who have become entwined
into our collective consciousness. This is a book of poems that give the story
from the perspective of Radha, what she went through, what her life was, and
what was her relationship with Shri Krushn!
THE ANALYSIS
I am not a fan of English poetry, being a fan of Suman and Dinkar among
others; so this is a new experience for me. What attracted me was the promise
of a story of Radha from Radha-Krushn; this immediately caught my eye and my
attention. The approach is different, yet the content is excellent, and leaves
a deep impression. This is a work of love, based on and themed on love, and on
the Divine Couple of Radhe-Krushn.
The theme is Radhe-Krushn, and when you are writing on a character who is
central to {or centrally placed in}, almost, our culture and our religion, then
the content should be extremely tastefully presented, it should be powerful and
should add value for it to connect, really connect, with the reader. And in all
of these, it connects, big-time. It connects on a spiritual, mental, emotional,
intellectual level – all levels, and leaves you richer as well as in awe of
Radhaji …
I will not dwell on the specifics of poetry; that I leave to you, the
reader, to discover yourself. The book is a short fast quick read, well
presented, and follows a logical flow of the life of Radhaji, from early
childhood to her youth years, separation from Shri Krushn, her eventual
marriage, her relations with her family and in-laws, her life after Shri Krushn,
and going on to her re-union {of sorts; surprised? Read the book!} with Shri
Krushn, and closing with her dehaavasaan and beyond.
All of us are aware of the sublime love story of Radhe-Krushn; all have likely
wondered what happened to her, yet we learn precious little in contemporary
literature, a very sad state of affairs. It is gladdening to the heart to see
such books come forth from the new generation, a trend that holds tremendous
promise for the future, that the gaps in our knowledge will be filled through excellent
original work in the coming days.
This is not a book you will forget easily, for it is a subject very close
to our hearts. And, the book is very well imagined, crafted, researched {sources
detailed in the Bibliography}, created and presented. The use of poetry as
opposed to prose makes for easy assimilation, but more than that – adds punch
to the story and your enjoyment of it. Through this book, I got a small tiny
glimpse as to the advantages of setting stories in Chhand form, as has been the
habit in all languages in the past.
CONCLUSION
All in all, to conclude, this is an excellent work of poetry, which creates
a strong emotive connect with you, and elicits strong internal dormant emotions
towards the subject matter at hand, bringing them to the fore. It also adds to
your knowledge of the Leela of Shri Krushn, fills gaps in your knowledge. It fully
fleshes out the reality of Radhaji, making for a fuller deeper connect to both
Radhe-Krushn, both of whom are so central to us. In doing so, it also enables a
much deeper appreciation of Shri Krushn, and his sacrifices, to say nothing of
the life of Radhaji, who comes across as incredibly powerful and strong… kudos!
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