The vaakhs of Lal Ded, the mystic poet from Kashmir, has influenced generations of readers. At the same time, they have remained beyond the pale of general understanding, given their esoteric nature, with translations replete with footnotes and other academic inputs that often ended up distracting from the essence of her poetry.
For scholar and writer Arvind Gigoo, it would be a lifelong engagement to render these verses in a manner that would enable the reader to discover the simplicity and beauty of her poetry. It would take him over 30 years — through some of the toughest times of his life as an exile from his home in Kashmir in the wake of the events of 1989 — to put together his interpretation of Lal Ded. At the end of it, he would term her poetry ‘untranslatable’ and his project of interpreting Lal Ded ‘unfinishable’. In one of the quirks of fate, and publishing, he would pass away just a few months before the work was published by Om Books International, with a stunning cover by Pinaki De, which adds a whole new dimension to Gigoo’s work.
Siddhartha Gigoo, the translator’s son and an author in his own right, spoke to Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri about ‘the naked poet’, his father’s all-consuming passion, and the book.
My Kolkata: Tell us something about your initiation into the poetry of Lal Ded — the importance of her poetry and what it means at a personal level for you.
Siddhartha Gigoo: Coming from a family of Vedic scholars, we have, in our family, a tradition of studying the Vedic scriptures. My great-grandfather was a theologian. He studied all religions and philosophical systems, including Indian. Lal Ded’s philosophy, as enshrined in her verses deeply influenced by various schools of thought like Vedanta, Shaivism, Buddhism, Vaishnava philosophy, Yoga and Samkhya, also reflected through the esoteric nature of her verses.
My father spent 33 years working on this book. He took pauses between years to reflect and ruminate. His understanding and interpretation of Lal Ded’s philosophy evolved over the years and took the right shape. Thus, this book is more of a transcreation, as is set out in the translator’s note. There are times I turn to Lal’s verses — especially one or two — and they give me the right perspective and insight into life. They also give me solace and spiritual strength to navigate the complexities of life.
‘Lal Ded’s philosophy is eternal. It can take a lifetime, and more, to understand it’
Your father has been working on this translation of Lal Ded for decades. He has been a much-feted writer, scholar. What did this work mean to him?
It meant everything to him. Dedicating 33 years to this project is inspiring. Especially during the most difficult time of our lives, when we were forced to flee our home in Kashmir in 1990 and live as exiles in Udhampur, near Jammu. Every day he studied the poetry of Lal Ded and ruminated over it, and then rendered each verse into English. Each verse took months. The English rendition evolved over time. The readers will see how open and free the poetry is now in the English rendition. Yet, each verse still offers itself to multiple interpretations. It also has the capability to set us free. Such is its power.
That’s perhaps why my father called it an “unfinishable project”. Much like life itself! “Lal Ded’s philosophy is eternal. It can take a lifetime, and more, to understand it,” he would say to me. “My translation will always remain unfinished…”
He calls this an interpretation, but why? How does the book differ from other works on Lal Ded?
Here I will have to resort to his note on the translation. He says, “While translating Lal Ded’s verses into English, I found two unequal worlds colliding. I had to resort to inventiveness while making sure that the essence of the original, which is rooted in Kashmir’s indigenous mystical and philosophical tradition, is retained, and remains intact to the greatest extent possible. While preserving the densities and complexities of the original verses, I reconstructed their structural, syntactic and linguistic intricacies. As a result, a narrative frame and a recasting device took shape. You will see that the mythological references of the original remain intact. In the process, the verses, as they sound in original Kashmiri, lost their punch. A translator is merely a negotiator and mediator between the poet and her readers. For me, this translation is a performance to bridge the distance between two cultures and languages…”
No one else has done such a unique interpretation of Lal Ded. This book can be read by everyone.
Lal Ded’s verses continue to be a beacon of hope and offer us spiritual comfort
The legacy of Lal Ded has been appropriated by both Muslims and Hindus in Kashmir. In many ways there’s a parallel to Shirdi Sai Baba. Can you throw some light on this and what that signifies? And her importance to the cultural and social life of Kashmiris.
Both Muslims and Hindus claim Lal Ded’s legacy and narrate stories to suit their imagination. Isn’t it a fabulous thing? It gives us hope about a syncretic ethos that Kashmir once was.
She came to be known as Lal Ded (Mother Lalla). Some Muslims call her Lalla Arifa. She is a symbol of unity and harmony. She came to be venerated as a great spiritual master capable of influencing even Islamic missionaries and leaders like Sayyid Mir Ali Hamadani, who arrived in Kashmir from Persia in the 14th century during Lal Ded’s time.
Lal Ded came to assume even greater significance for us Kashmiri Pandits especially after our exodus from Kashmir. Her verses continue to be a beacon of hope and offer us spiritual comfort. Especially while we continue to yearn for our long-lost homes in Kashmir. We turn to Lal Ded and her verses, calling upon her to take us home, the home she longed for. A permanent abode of bliss where there is no suffering and no despair. Where everything is one.
Lal Ded should become a household name, a spiritual rockstar
How relevant is the poetry of Lal Ded in an era of social media and the aggressive posturing of the self that that entails? Do you see the young taking back lessons from her life and poetry? I ask this in the light of how Rumi is hugely popular, making it to the list of quotable quotes all over social media.
People all over the world should read her, especially the youth. She’s all the more relevant in the current times where we find ourselves at crossroads and in a strange existential crisis of sorts — living somewhat busy lives, caught up like cogs in the humdrum of things, slaves of technology and devices, not being able to take the right pause to reflect on the beautiful aspects of human existence and thought which Lal Ded talks of.
For instance, this beautiful Zen-like verse.
“I tamed the horse
and held my breath.
The moon dripped inside me.
The void entered the void.”
Lal Ded should trend on social media in India from now on. She should become a household name. A youth icon. A spiritual rockstar.