Dr Jyoti Lanjewar
Born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, on 25th November 1950, she grew up in a family that had
dedicated itself to social causes.
She was educated at Nagpur where she did her masters, M.Phil and PhD. She has accepted a
permanent position as professor and head of Marathi at SB City College, Nagpur and is serving
till date.
Dr Jyoti Lanjewar needs no introduction in Marathi literature. She is a noted writer, critic, poet,
feminist scholar and social activist. She has authored more than 14 books out of which 4 are
poetry collections, and are 7 books on criticism.
Her poems have been translated into almost all Indian languages and also foreign languages
including Sinhalese, Russian, German, Swedish and English. Her poetic works are taught at
several universities, both in India and abroad. Her poetry has been anthologized in several
compilations and anthologies of modern Indian poetry.
A compilation of her poems, translated into English by Dr. Aparna Lanjewar Bose, has come out
in the form of the book ‘Red Slogans on the Green Grass’, published by Scion, Pune.
In the book, she says:
“poetry is a trestle/ spanning the distance between/ what i feel/ and what i say” says the
African American woman writer Nikki Giovanni.
Actually poetry is much more. It is simply the reason for its being. An words are but felt excuses
that unload pressures of pain and sensations, by elegantly transmuting life into poetry and then
leaving her alone to grow the way she wants to and to become what she attempts to be.
My poetry is about humanity and its seemingly endless struggles for survival, for change,
for justice and sometimes humanity happens to be the oppressed marginalized… it’s a
wonderful process of all these voices coming out of me.”
“She has authored more than 15 books and remains one of the leading voices in modern Indian
poetry today.
Her poetry speaks on diverse themes as womanhood, motherhood, friendship, honest
commitment, human values and love. Her poetry punctures the status quoist forces and entails
dauntless passion, wisdom, and rare intensity that dismantle stereotypes to render candidly the
lived and shared women experiences, intersecting gender, class, caste and caste within”
, THE NAMELESS ONES (ANAMIKAS)
March 17th, 2011 by anuradha
Begging won't get anything here
not sympathy, not love
A suit in court wins injustice,
Tears are of no value,a
Getting water is a struggle,
Wrapping yourself in smoke from a dead fire won't work
You have to plant the cinder of revolt in your own body.
At times there is a firefly of revolt flickering -maybe
counterfeit –
But at those times give it outside air to see if it glows.
"The revolution will come through poetry"
Once I accepted that.
But poetry does not live by making revolution.
The same faithless faces of yesterday
extend the hand of friendship
while wounding with a sword…….. and
in their struggle with the enemy were
made impotent.
They burned houses down with words
But after the house burned, the words died.
For the sake of the poetry of humanity
one must be so very human,
But they change with the wind…….
And these green parrots of the dry desert turn out to be
a mirage.
They turn their eyes where they wish, according to their
own convenience.
When there is no strength
in their own wings
They find the convenient words
to cut the wings of others.
They make palaces of words!
But I have seen them crumble.
"Kala Ram" and "Chawdar Tank" –
the history of pain
is carved on each of our hearts
But even if they could carve words on water
The Indrayani will not save them.
Born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, on 25th November 1950, she grew up in a family that had
dedicated itself to social causes.
She was educated at Nagpur where she did her masters, M.Phil and PhD. She has accepted a
permanent position as professor and head of Marathi at SB City College, Nagpur and is serving
till date.
Dr Jyoti Lanjewar needs no introduction in Marathi literature. She is a noted writer, critic, poet,
feminist scholar and social activist. She has authored more than 14 books out of which 4 are
poetry collections, and are 7 books on criticism.
Her poems have been translated into almost all Indian languages and also foreign languages
including Sinhalese, Russian, German, Swedish and English. Her poetic works are taught at
several universities, both in India and abroad. Her poetry has been anthologized in several
compilations and anthologies of modern Indian poetry.
A compilation of her poems, translated into English by Dr. Aparna Lanjewar Bose, has come out
in the form of the book ‘Red Slogans on the Green Grass’, published by Scion, Pune.
In the book, she says:
“poetry is a trestle/ spanning the distance between/ what i feel/ and what i say” says the
African American woman writer Nikki Giovanni.
Actually poetry is much more. It is simply the reason for its being. An words are but felt excuses
that unload pressures of pain and sensations, by elegantly transmuting life into poetry and then
leaving her alone to grow the way she wants to and to become what she attempts to be.
My poetry is about humanity and its seemingly endless struggles for survival, for change,
for justice and sometimes humanity happens to be the oppressed marginalized… it’s a
wonderful process of all these voices coming out of me.”
“She has authored more than 15 books and remains one of the leading voices in modern Indian
poetry today.
Her poetry speaks on diverse themes as womanhood, motherhood, friendship, honest
commitment, human values and love. Her poetry punctures the status quoist forces and entails
dauntless passion, wisdom, and rare intensity that dismantle stereotypes to render candidly the
lived and shared women experiences, intersecting gender, class, caste and caste within”
, THE NAMELESS ONES (ANAMIKAS)
March 17th, 2011 by anuradha
Begging won't get anything here
not sympathy, not love
A suit in court wins injustice,
Tears are of no value,a
Getting water is a struggle,
Wrapping yourself in smoke from a dead fire won't work
You have to plant the cinder of revolt in your own body.
At times there is a firefly of revolt flickering -maybe
counterfeit –
But at those times give it outside air to see if it glows.
"The revolution will come through poetry"
Once I accepted that.
But poetry does not live by making revolution.
The same faithless faces of yesterday
extend the hand of friendship
while wounding with a sword…….. and
in their struggle with the enemy were
made impotent.
They burned houses down with words
But after the house burned, the words died.
For the sake of the poetry of humanity
one must be so very human,
But they change with the wind…….
And these green parrots of the dry desert turn out to be
a mirage.
They turn their eyes where they wish, according to their
own convenience.
When there is no strength
in their own wings
They find the convenient words
to cut the wings of others.
They make palaces of words!
But I have seen them crumble.
"Kala Ram" and "Chawdar Tank" –
the history of pain
is carved on each of our hearts
But even if they could carve words on water
The Indrayani will not save them.
