Serenely Flows the River

Poet, translator and novelist Lakshmi Kannan’s extraordinary fifth volume of poetry, Nadistuti, draws on the numerous streams that have shaped her poetic oeuvre to sustain the river of words that have influenced the cultural landscape of our times. The title Nadistuti refers to the nadistuti sukta, a hymn in praise of rivers from the 10th Mandala of the Rig Veda. The title is particularly apt for this collection as Lakshmi Kannan subtly associates the life-sustaining flow of river waters to the energizing outpouring of words in poetry. The title also reflects the essence of her distinctive poetry, at times lyrical and soothing, at other times provocative and unsettling, yet always fascinating. Kannan’s poetry derives its force from how deftly she weaves the everyday—phone calls, swivel stools, skipping ropes—into her world of ideas and intellect, ranging from riverine mythology, religion and history, in poems that are in turn delicate, witty and intriguing.