Pinto deepens this terrain into a gendered critique of leave-taking, arguing that the very notion of leaving is profoundly shaped by patriarchal imagination. While women may harbour the desire to leave, this longing is routinely romanticized or appropriated by men, rarely granted the legitimacy of action.
The extensively and admirably researched introduction not only serves its stated purpose of introducing Rahim’s time, place and persona to readers like me who may not be familiar with all the fascinating details of the multiple contexts and sites from which these dohas emerge and must be read to be fully understood
The difficulty of the translator of poetry from an Indian language into English comes from the music of the words. As a reader, the translator is a sahrday in the world of rasa which Tagore dives into to find formless gems: ‘I have dived into the ocean of form’, he says, ‘in search of a formless gem.’
‘How can I Deal with You, My Dear?’ refers to the daughter’s fear, who is dependent on father’s protection, but once she becomes an adult, she has to learn to walk in darkness and live with evil spirits in the external world. Where does this evil come from if not criminality and various types of exploitation? ‘Wrenching of Heart’ portrays the eternal wait of the parents for their missing son.
Perhaps the most powerful and poignant piece of Chabria’s text is intertwining Earth stories with Indian mythologies, to reimagine the most well-known stories from apocalyptic, climatic or environmental perspectives. Pishachas, flesh-eating demons in Indian folklore are reconceptualized as survivors of a nuclear winter they caused on their planet (p. 61). The stories of Pishachas come with a warning to the human race;
Where the novel shines is in Oleksiy’s fraught relationship with his childhood friend-turned-enemy Ruslan. Their history is marred by betrayal yet punctuated by unexpected loyalty. It adds genuine complexity, exploring how masculinity, loyalty and moral choice are entangled within systems of power.