top of page

By:

Shiv Sethi

10 January 2026 at 2:43:11 pm

Poetry Beyond Labels

Vandana Kumar , a New Delhi–based multiple award-winning author and poet, has steadily carved a distinctive space in contemporary Indian poetry. A French teacher, translator, and passionate cinephile, Kumar’s creative world draws from diverse artistic influences ranging from classical music to cinema and visual arts. Her celebrated poetry collection ‘Mannequin Of Our Times’ has garnered international recognition and has now been translated into Greek, with a French translation scheduled for...

Poetry Beyond Labels

Vandana Kumar , a New Delhi–based multiple award-winning author and poet, has steadily carved a distinctive space in contemporary Indian poetry. A French teacher, translator, and passionate cinephile, Kumar’s creative world draws from diverse artistic influences ranging from classical music to cinema and visual arts. Her celebrated poetry collection ‘Mannequin Of Our Times’ has garnered international recognition and has now been translated into Greek, with a French translation scheduled for release soon. Shiv Sethi  had a tête-à-tête with the author. Excerpts… Mannequin of Our Times has now been translated into Greek. A French translation is soon to be released. Your poetry is in over 150 websites and anthologies -is this a childhood dream coming true? On the contrary my childhood fantasies and ambitions never included being an author -poet. It was only after my father’s death in 2014 that I actually started to write about anything and everything within me and around me. The poetry was perhaps always there, unnoticed and it needed that incident or event to bring it all out. Since my childhood I have been into everything that one can call art – enjoyed classical music, appreciated paintings and the poetry of cinema. What is good poetry according to you? At one level one can say poetry is very personal and subjective -so the definitions of good and bad poetry differ according to taste and what people consider good poetry. Sometimes poems are heavy on the message aspect but light on aesthetics yet they earn lot of praise simply because they tick the right boxes of all that is in fashion and the current flavour of the day -a lot of writing on nostalgia of our childhood days for example.   Good poetry, at a basic level is poetry that does something to the reader by the end of it, irrespective of who has written it. A poem is a complete story, a complete painting and a complete film in itself. The completeness might also be in it being open ended or seeking introspection. You write articles for cinema too? What is the connection between poetry and cinema? It is not for nothing that good cinema is called poetic. There is poetry in everything – in silent cinema, in its dialogues and the visual. Both written poetry and a scene from a film, for example, rely on imagery to evoke something within us. A metaphor in poetry works as a visual symbol in film. Will you label yourself as a feminist poet?  I don’t respond to labels -labels slot us in a sense and for me as an artist it is difficult to breathe with a label. To label is to confine and define through a particular lens. Naturally as for most of us -patriarchal mindsets, gender inequality, racism, environmental issues are things that disturb us and so they come into my poetry every now and then. I can’t write on things just to tick boxes. Messages do come in, but organically when they have to. I live many existences and my poetry is also a result of who I am and all the layering and complexities that go along with my personalities – I am a feminist but not just a feminist -I am many more things and unconsciously many identities that I take along with me. I inhabit many selves and my poetry is the dialogue between my various selves. So, while social issues naturally surface in my work. I do not write to fulfil ideological positions. Instead, my art seeks truth, beauty, and resonance, which sometimes align with feminist concerns, but are never limited to them. Is there any recurring theme in your poetry? What is the subject or issue that reoccurs in your poetry, directly or indirectly? Well, that is for readers to discover -my poetry on the surface is about anything that catches my fancy -I write about city life, love, longing, death, seasons, journeys, women, the social media and its hypocrisy. The overall arc is always loneliness- urban life and the impact of globalization over the last couple of decades is a recurring theme – primarily its resultant alienation.  I have written about coping with the information and disinformation around us as well as on topics of environmental concerns. Another area where I have penned my thoughts is the sexual behaviour in cities and how romances are impacted with global distances and yet a strange surreal sort of intimacy because of cyber proximity. Other themes are weather – passing clouds or droughts. I occasionally write humorous poetry too – which sort of is a reflection on our middle-class lives today and social media in particular.

Forced Tongues

In Maharashtra, the language of instruction has become a new battlefield. The state government’s recently announced that Hindi would be made compulsory as a third language in all state board schools from Class 1 onwards, alongside Marathi and English. The decision, made under the pretext of implementing the National Education Policy (NEP), has provoked a swift and sharp backlash not only from opposition parties but from the state’s own Language Advisory Committee as well.


The committee’s firm opinion was that the move was neither academically justified nor in tune with students’ psychology. Their letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rightly notes that introducing a compulsory third language at the primary level places undue pressure on young learners in an education system already struggling with inadequate infrastructure, teacher shortages and uneven learning outcomes.


Language, in India, is always political. It evokes deep emotional bonds, regional identities, and memories of centralising policies that have often appeared, rightly or wrongly, as attempts to homogenise a dazzlingly diverse nation. Maharashtra is not Tamil Nadu, where anti-Hindi sentiment has historically galvanised entire movements. Yet, the instinct to protect Marathi - a living, evolving language with a proud literary and cultural history - is a deeply felt one. It should not be mistaken for parochialism.


Moreover, the pedagogical rationale for this move is paper-thin. The Language Committee’s suggestion to require only two languages (one being Marathi) until Class XII is sound advice, rooted in evidence and expertise. Language acquisition thrives when it is organic and interest-driven, not when it is forced from a bureaucrat’s desk.


Besides, children in Maharashtra already pick up Hindi naturally through Bollywood films, television and popular culture. Hindi and Marathi, after all, share the same Devanagari script and have numerous linguistic similarities. Forcing Hindi in such an environment is not only redundant but betrays a lack of faith in the organic flow of languages and cultures.


The NEP’s insistence on a three-language formula may have been well-meaning, but its rigid application, especially when it defaults to Hindi, threatens that balance.


Predictably, opposition parties have seized the moment with the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), a fractious alliance at the best of times, finding unity in opposing the government over the issue. Political opportunism is certainly at play. But it would be a mistake to dismiss the protest merely as opposition for opposition’s sake as the unease is real and widespread.


Language, after all, is an expression of identity and belonging and not just communication. When governments attempt to prescribe what tongues children must learn, they risk trampling on something far deeper than syllabus design. If Hindi is to spread in Maharashtra, let it do so naturally through choice, cultural appeal and opportunity, not by compulsion.


In a state where the love for Marathi runs as deep as the rivers that course through its land, it would be unwise to ignite resentments that could have been avoided by a lighter touch.

Comments

bottom of page