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The Threshold: Poems from the Feminine Side
Step across 'The Threshold' into a world of profound emotion and resilient spirit with these powerful poems from renowned Hindi poet Rishabha Deo Sharma, brought to English by translator Luv. This collection, 'Poems from the Feminine Side,' delves into the raw, lived experiences of women navigating love, loss, societal pressures, and the quest for self-discovery. Each verse is a journey through hardship and defiance, exploring themes of healing, empowerment, and the enduring strength of the feminine spirit. If you seek poetry that offers solace, connection, and a deeper understanding of the human heart from a unique cultural perspective, 'The Threshold' will resonate deeply.
ForewordIn The Threshold (Poems from the Feminine side), Rishabha Deo Sharma presents a collection of poems that intricately explore the layered experiences of womanhood, tradition, and the ceaseless yearning for liberation. Through Kumar Luv’s eloquent English translation, these verses—originally penned in Hindi—gain a renewed voice, inviting a wider audience into Sharma’s world of deeply felt, often searing observations.
The poems navigate terrain both intimate and universal. In "Toy – Tethered – Thrall," the speaker’s bold cry— “No! / I am no toy. / No tethered cow. / I am no thrall!”—asserts a fierce individuality and resistance. Similarly, in "I Too Must Come of Age," the poetic voice claims agency with quiet strength. Sharma invokes myth and memory through resonant allusions to Sophia, Radha, and Meera, weaving their timeless echoes into the fabric of modern womanhood in poems like "I Did Not Become Neelkanth" and "My Own Will."
Some of the most moving pieces confront harsh realities with unflinching honesty. " On a Girl’s Suicide" mourns a life extinguished by the weight of poverty and societal neglect, its raw sorrow rendered with stark poignancy. In "When Need Arises, Mother, You're Called," the poem laments the abandonment of aging parents, especially mothers, and the silent suffering that shadows their lives.
A defining strength of this collection is its piercing critique of patriarchy. In poems such as "Why Do Women Mutter" and "As Many Bonds, So Much Liberation," Sharma exposes the social mechanisms that continue to limit women’s autonomy and expression. His verse dismantles the comforting illusions of tradition, revealing the hypocrisies that sustain systemic oppression.
"They Gave Me Many Names" offers a chilling portrayal of how society fractures and reshapes a woman’s identity to suit its needs. In a stirring counterpoint, "The New Shakuntala" reimagines the mythic figure with blazing defiance. Through her son Bharata, this Shakuntala claims power not through approval but by “Queen Consort, you say? / It is Queen Mother I will make you. / The throne is mine; / no alms will I take— / I will seize it from the king.”
Kumar Luv’s translation is a remarkable achievement. Far more than a linguistic conversion, it is a work of attentive re-creation. Luv captures the soul of Sharma’s Hindi verse—its rhythm, nuance, and emotional force—while crafting English poems that stand compellingly on their own. His translation preserves cultural specificity without alienating the reader, rendering idioms, cadences, and images with precision and grace. The result is poetry that feels both rooted and resonant, timeless and immediate.
The Threshold is a powerful reminder of poetry’s enduring capacity to illuminate the human condition.
ForewordIn The Threshold (Poems from the Feminine side), Rishabha Deo Sharma presents a collection of poems that intricately explore the layered experiences of womanhood, tradition, and the ceaseless yearning for liberation. Through Kumar Luv’s eloquent English translation, these verses—originally penned in Hindi—gain a renewed voice, inviting a wider audience into Sharma’s world of deeply felt, often searing observations.
The poems navigate terrain both intimate and universal. In "Toy – Tethered – Thrall," the speaker’s bold cry— “No! / I am no toy. / No tethered cow. / I am no thrall!”—asserts a fierce individuality and resistance. Similarly, in "I Too Must Come of Age," the poetic voice claims agency with quiet strength. Sharma invokes myth and memory through resonant allusions to Sophia, Radha, and Meera, weaving their timeless echoes into the fabric of modern womanhood in poems like "I Did Not Become Neelkanth" and "My Own Will."
Some of the most moving pieces confront harsh realities with unflinching honesty. " On a Girl’s Suicide" mourns a life extinguished by the weight of poverty and societal neglect, its raw sorrow rendered with stark poignancy. In "When Need Arises, Mother, You're Called," the poem laments the abandonment of aging parents, especially mothers, and the silent suffering that shadows their lives.
A defining strength of this collection is its piercing critique of patriarchy. In poems such as "Why Do Women Mutter" and "As Many Bonds, So Much Liberation," Sharma exposes the social mechanisms that continue to limit women’s autonomy and expression. His verse dismantles the comforting illusions of tradition, revealing the hypocrisies that sustain systemic oppression.
"They Gave Me Many Names" offers a chilling portrayal of how society fractures and reshapes a woman’s identity to suit its needs. In a stirring counterpoint, "The New Shakuntala" reimagines the mythic figure with blazing defiance. Through her son Bharata, this Shakuntala claims power not through approval but by “Queen Consort, you say? / It is Queen Mother I will make you. / The throne is mine; / no alms will I take— / I will seize it from the king.”
Kumar Luv’s translation is a remarkable achievement. Far more than a linguistic conversion, it is a work of attentive re-creation. Luv captures the soul of Sharma’s Hindi verse—its rhythm, nuance, and emotional force—while crafting English poems that stand compellingly on their own. His translation preserves cultural specificity without alienating the reader, rendering idioms, cadences, and images with precision and grace. The result is poetry that feels both rooted and resonant, timeless and immediate.
The Threshold is a powerful reminder of poetry’s enduring capacity to illuminate the human condition.
103 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 23, 2025
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