The Mystic and the Lyric: Four Women Poets from Kashmir

by Neerja Mattoo (Translator)

For the first time, The Mystic and the Lyric brings together the classic work of four women poets from Kashmir who have shaped its literary imagination: Lalded, Habba Khatun, Arnimal, and Rupa Bhavani.

These women inhabit not just the collective memory of Kashmiris and Kashmir but are part of the land’s living oral tradition. Folk singers begin their performances with Lalded’s vaakhs (quatrains). Arnimal’s pain of unrequited love and Khatun’s complaints about her in-laws are ironic wedding vatsans or songs. Bhavani’s sites of meditation are now shrines where her vaakhs are chanted in annual celebrations.

Central to the shaping of both the mystic and the lyric traditions of Kashmiri poetry, the work of these poets is unknown outside Kashmir. In this collection, Neerja Mattoo’s elegant translations introduce new readers to the beautiful living oral tradition of Kashmiri lyric poetry and give these revolutionary women the recognition they richly deserve.
 

Genres: Poetry, Womens

252 pages, Hardcover

Published November 30, 2019

Reviews

[Neelam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only accessible poetry collection from Kashmiri women that I have been able to find and it didn’t disappoint. The dichotomy between longing and suffering in love (the lyric) to radical transcendance free from earthly love (the mystic), is intriguing in the prose of the four women and conveys a charm and timelessness that I wasn’t expecting.

[Nirbhay Kanoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was hoping to love it but sadly didn't. None the less, was a good introduction to 4 women and poets who I didn't know of. More such books should be written, if nothing else but to make us aware of our heritage and culture.

[Sharan Ahluwalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bless the moment I came across this collection of poetry translations by epic Kashimi women in history. Habba Khatun is my personal favourite.

[areebah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sun sinks and light brightens the moon
The moon sets and the mind lights up
When the mind dissolves, nothing remains
Earth, air and sky are dissolved, where are they?
- Lal ded

[Pri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I found it earlier. So so so immersive. This book is an experience.