IF teddy bears and chocolate were the landscape of love, life would, of course, be gloriously simple. Also, a trifle vapid, but that’s another matter. The fact is that love is, and has always been, a sticky business. And not just vanilla sticky. Sticky in a bloody, snotty way. A living-and-dying kind of way. The problem is no one tells us so.
If the darker side of fairytales help prepare children for existential issues, ranging from terrors of abandonment to sibling rivalries, where are the adult almanacks for human love? Is greeting-card verse meant to do the trick? Is a movie like Animal meant to prepare us for the lurching cardiogram of romantic love? How do we understand what turns moonlight and roses into toxicity, betrayal and rejection? And what eventually enables love to ripen into wisdom?
Stories offer insight. But poems, I believe, go deeper. Poems offer insight more directly, swiftly and profoundly than stories ever can. Many years ago, when I began reading Indian sacred poetry, I found, to my amazement, that there was a wealth of insight here about how to navigate the darker tides of love. Why was this such a well-kept secret? Why had I grown up believing that our bhakti literature was all about pious saints looking rapturously heavenward? Why did I never hear the ferocity, the desperation, the erotic tensions, the yowl and ecstatic cry in their voices? Why had I believed that devotion was all about meek service at the lotus feet of despotic gurus and capricious deities? Why had I never been encouraged to hear the risk, the terror, the longing, the sheer sensual appetite for union and dissolution?
"My hair's come loose I dance like a madwoman"
This story is from the February 21, 2024 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 21, 2024 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
DharmasthalaMantra of Development
Heggade's Path of Development towards Athmanirbharata Traced, How Temples can Transform Life, Economically and Socially
Forking Paths of Sanatana and Dravidian Thought
The evolution from devotional egalitarianism to social justice
Left, Hand Drive
Whether the Congress' Rahul Gandhi or CPI's Annie Raja wins, Wayanad has widened the chasm in the INDIA bloc
Coastal Turbulence
Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada-districts in coastal Karnataka, which witnessed increased instances of polarisation in the last few years-have been the BJP's stronghold
A Return to the Ballot?
Separatist politics may not influence the general elections in Kashmir this time
Miya, Axomia and Tea
The BJP hopes to sweep Assam in the Lok Sabha polls riding on PM Modi and CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's development and Hindutva agenda. The Opposition has constituency-specific strategies
The Stained Floodplains
In the calm foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, there is a storm brewing between the BJP and the TMC. The voters are divided
Minimum Support Life
Politicians visiting Madhya Pradesh are making big promises to the people, but for the Adivasis, it's still about Jal, Jungle, Jameen
Divine Dividend
Arun Govil, who played Lord Ram in the popular television series, Ramayan, flips the conventions of devotion on the campaign trail
Next Gen Bahujan
Nagina Lok Sabha constituency in Bijnor district has emerged as a key battleground for the future of Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh