Mandalas of Time: Malashri Lal on Myths, Feminism, and Creativity in Isolation
4 min read
The air crackles with anticipation feeding off the opulence of Ashok Club, a sprawling testament to the city’s regal past. Crystal chandeliers glint like scattered stars, their light bouncing off the polished marble floors. Amidst this grandeur, a hush falls as Malashri Lal, the celebrated poet, takes the stage. Her eyes, the colour of burnished copper, hold a universe of stories, waiting to be unfurled.
We, the audience, lean in, eager to find the lyrical tide of her words washing over our souls like a healing balm. This isn’t just a book launch; it’s a pilgrimage into the soul of a woman who has dared to paint with her vibrant take on life, love, and loss.
Radha’s Dilemma: A Feminist Lens on Mythology
“God needs a cure. The World runs by His command. I’m neither his wife nor a woman of social power. My love for Murali Manohar is unconditional.”
Radha’s Dilemma, by Malashri Lal
Malashri begins by delving into the heart of an ancient tale, the poignant ache of Radha’s separation from Krishna. But her voice isn’t steeped in blind devotion; it hums with a quiet rebellion, a feminist undercurrent that rewrites the narrative.
She weaves a tapestry of words, resurrecting Radha from the confines of a forsaken lover to a woman of unwavering strength and compassion. In the face of societal constraints and divine indifference, Radha’s love transcends, offering solace to a God who yearns for her feet-washed water, a balm of unconditional love.
Malashri speaks of Krishna and Radha, characters steeped in mythology yet alive in her verses. “When Krishna left Vrindavan, he never came back,” she begins, her voice a melody of nostalgia and wisdom. The story she tells is not just of mythic love but of longing and unfulfilled promises. Radha, aware Krishna would not return, becomes a symbol of unrequited love yet unconditional devotion. This narrative culminates in her poem ‘Radha’s Dilemma’ which delves into her mind and how she decides to hand over her charanamrit (feet-washed water) to Krishna’s emissary when his 1600+ wives refuse to do the same calling it blasphemy.
In these lines of Lal, Radha transcends from a mythical figure to a beacon of selfless love, a theme resonating deeply in today’s individualistic world.
Beyond the Binary: A Moderate Feminism
Malashri’s feminism isn’t a battle cry; it’s a gentle nudge, a call for understanding. She rejects the notion of a man versus woman dichotomy, instead advocating for a harmonious tapestry where genders unite for the greater good.
She draws inspiration from Sarojini Naidu, the multifaceted poet-politician, who embodied the essence of a womanhood unbound by societal shackles. Malashri’s poems echo this spirit, celebrating the strength and resilience of women while acknowledging the crucial role men play in weaving a just and equitable society.
Confessional Whispers and the Power of Self-Healing
The conversation delves into the depths of Malashri’s creative process. Contrary to expectations, she confesses to a surprising lack of intensely personal poems. Her verses, she explains, are not intimate diaries, but windows into the collective human experience. She does not subscribe to the confessional style of Sylvia Plath or Kamala Das but finds solace in the quiet communion with Emily Dickinson, the recluse poet who poured her soul onto the page. Her poems are a mix of personal and impersonal narratives, a therapeutic process offering self-healing. “Every person in this room is a poet,” she states, her words a testament to the universal nature of poetry. The line between academic and creative writing blurs in her discourse, showcasing her journey from an academic to a poet.
Malashri, too, finds solace in the act of creation, recognizing its power to heal and reflect. Poetry becomes a sanctuary, a space where she confronts her vulnerabilities and emerges stronger, her spirit a mandala of time, each poem a shimmering fragment of a larger, luminous whole.
From Academia to Art: A Bridge Between Worlds
Malashri’s journey is a testament to the transformative power of creativity. For years, she navigated the sterile corridors of academia, her voice confined to the dry confines of research papers. But the pandemic, with its isolating grip, forced her to confront a hidden truth – the yearning to sing, to dance with words, to paint with the vibrant hues of her imagination.
Mandalas of Time: A Creation in Isolation
The anthology ‘Mandalas of Time’ was born in the solitude of the COVID pandemic, a period of reflection and introspection. “It was a time when you were losing friends, you were in isolation,” she recalls, her voice tinged with the collective grief of those times. And so, “Mandalas of Time” was born. A collection of 75 poems, each a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, each a brushstroke on the canvas of life’s unpredictable bends. The poems are not just verses but “pools of consciousness,” each a spark of energy reflecting discrete moments in time. The title ‘Mandalas of Time’ symbolises this collection of moments, each poem a mandala, a self-contained universe of thought and feeling.
As Malashri’s voice fades, the room thrums with a newfound energy. We, the audience, are no longer passive observers; we are co-creators, our imaginations ignited by the spark of her words. We leave the Ashok Club not just with a book, but with a renewed sense of possibility, a reminder that even in the darkest corners of isolation, the human spirit can bloom, a mandala of time, vibrant and ever-evolving.
