Vinod Kumar Shukla’s poetry is filled with imagery that blends the physical world with the metaphysical. In his world, lotuses knot up the pond’s water, rangolis take flight, parrots melt into trees, and a man in a new woolen coat walks away like a thought. His poetry captures the elusive nature of existence, where even the smallest of moments reveal larger truths.
Recently, Shukla was honored with the 59th Jnanpith Award. For this poet from Chhattisgarh, the ordinary and the domestic hold the entire world. As he moves through small-town bazaars, waits for trains, and avoids puddles, he contemplates life’s deepest questions: What is the sound of time? What does love smell like? His reflections on life are so profound that his syntax often defies conventional grammar.
In one poem, he writes, “After then, comes now.” Shukla’s work captures introspective moments as they unfold, finding meaning in the most ordinary of scenes. A crow holding a piece of bread, for example, prompts a meditation on hunger and desire, asking, if the crow can claim its share, why can’t a man do the same?
Shukla’s political views are similarly rooted in his sensitivity to everyday injustices. He speaks of the homeless Adivasis, their lives marred by neglect, and the struggles of those who are too small to fight back against life’s absurdities. Yet, through his poetry, he gives voice to the chaos and imposes order on it.
Now 88, Shukla has spent much of his life teaching at Indira Gandhi Agriculture University in Raipur. His poetry, while deeply rooted in his time and place, transcends both, making him a celebrated voice in Hindi literature. His work has been widely translated, earning him recognition, including the prestigious PEN Nabokov Award in 2023.
The Reticent Poet
Shukla’s reticence is legendary. In the 1970s, Ashok Vajpeyi, then a young Collector in Ambikapur, was so moved by Shukla’s early poems that he asked for permission to publish them. The poet never responded directly; instead, Vajpeyi had to send a personal emissary to gain Shukla’s consent. Despite his reluctance to be in the spotlight, Shukla’s poetry has reached far beyond his hometown.
Vajpeyi, who later worked in Madhya Pradesh’s Culture Department, ensured Shukla received the Muktibodh award, though Shukla preferred it be given to younger poets. In 1979, Shukla’s first novel, Naukar ki Kameez, was published, thanks to a Muktibodh fellowship that allowed him to complete the work.
Over the years, Shukla’s poems have found a wide audience, including filmmakers like Mani Kaul and translators such as Satti Khanna and Arvind Krishna Mehrotra. His works, including A Window Lived in the Wall (1997), have received international acclaim, and his unique voice continues to inspire new generations of readers and poets.
A Craftsman of Language
Shukla’s writing style is deceptively simple yet profound. He uses plain, everyday words—haathi (elephant), paani (water), ghoda (horse)—to create vivid images that blur the line between the tangible and the abstract. His poetry explores the ineffable, making the everyday feel transcendental. His sentence construction may appear straightforward, but it builds a deeper rhythm and emphasis, capturing life’s complexities in the simplest terms.
In one of his poems, Shukla writes, “That man put on a new woolen coat and went away like a thought. / In rubber flip-flops, I struggled behind.” This image, while simple, evokes a deeper sense of life’s fleeting moments.
Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, who translated many of Shukla’s poems into English, likens his writing to a fingerprint, unique and difficult to replicate. According to Mehrotra, reading Shukla’s work can be disorienting, much like viewing optical art, but it is precisely this disorientation that makes his poetry resonate.
Shukla’s writing is not just a reflection of his times but a timeless exploration of the human experience. His work transcends its immediate context, offering readers a glimpse into the universal truths that lie beneath the surface of daily life.
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