Indian Love Poems

ForewordWAITINGFrom Subhashitavali of VallabhadevaMy Love VATSYAYANA From KamasutraFour Embraces MILAIPPERUNKANTAN From KuruntokaiWhat He SaidALLUR NANMULLAI From KuruntokaiWhat She SaidORERURAVANAR From KuruntokaiWhat He SaidKALIDASA From MeghadutamThe Loom of Time ANONYMOUSA Small Request SRINATHALove Letter JAGANATHA From Bhamini VilasaA Word of Warning CHANDIDAS‘I have blackened my golden skin’ ANURADHA MAHAPATRAGodMAMULANAR From KuruntokaiWhat She SaidCHANDIDAS‘I throw ashes at all laws’ KAPILAR From AinkurunuruWhat Her Friend SaidTEVAKULATTAR From KuruntokaiWhat She SaidFrom Gathasaptasati‘Even in a reeling world’ ‘How can you describe her?’ From Amarusataka‘All I have to do’ ‘She’s in the house’ VARATUNKARAMAPANTIYAN’S WIFE Space to Space KABIR‘Like a sharp arrow’ JAYANTA MAHAPATRAA Day of Rain MANORAMA MAHAPATRAMy Whole Life for Him AMRITA PRITAMEarly Spring K. SATCHIDANANDANLoving aWoman BALAMANIAMMAGift of LoveSHAKUNT MATHURA New Way of Waiting GHALIB Desires Come by the Thousands Behind the Curtain NISSIM EZEKIELPoet, Lover, Birdwatcher MIRAJILove Song of the Clerk SURESH JOSHIDarkness SITANSHU YASHASHCHANDRASolar NIRALA Love Song A. K. RAMANUJANLooking for a Cousin on a Swing MEENA ALEXANDER Indian Sandstone FAHMIDAH RIAZ Tongue of Stone PRATIBHA SATPATHY Dew DropSAROOP DHRUVBeyond the Flapdoor KEKI N. DARUWALLA From Night River‘Dream and reality’ MEETINGVATSYAYANA From Kamasutra‘When men ask about all the ways of embracing’ ‘Whatever wound a man inflicts on a woman’ KALIDASA From Sakuntala‘Craving sweet’ ‘Seeing rare beauty’ ANONYMOUSKamasutra From Amarusataka ‘Held her’ KUMARADASA From Janakiharana‘In their quarrel’ CANDRAKA From Sarngadharapaddhati‘A long time back’FAIZ AHMED FAIZ‘Before you came’ FAHMIDAH RIAZDeep Kiss SUDEEP SENDesire Caress MIRABAI‘Here she comes’ ‘Hari is a dhobi’ ‘On a sudden’ CHANDIDAS‘I have hardened my mind’ SUJATA BHATTThe Kamasutra Retold KABIR‘To say that the love’ ‘Lying beside you’VIDYALove in the Countryside VIKATANITAMBARecollection VALLANA‘When he had taken off my clothes’ BHAVABHUTI From Uttara Rama Charita‘Deep in love’ CHAVALI BANGARAMMAMy BrotherRABINDRANATH TAGOREBlack Blossom One Day AKHTAR-UL-IMANCompromise ISMAILYou BASAVANNA‘Look here, dear fellow’ILANKO ATIKAL From The CilappatikaramFrom The Round Dance of the HerdswomenMAHADEVIYANKKA‘Like a silkworm weaving’ ‘When I didn’t know myself ’ D. VINAYACHANDRAN From Hell Writes a Love Poem‘When the gigantic bulls with broken horns’‘For love’ ‘It is heaven and hell’ ‘Standing naked before the mirror’ From Amarusataka‘When my face turned toward his’ CEMPULAPPEYANIRAR From KuruntokaiWhat He SaidFrom Amarusataka‘My girl’ ‘Tender-limbed girl’ DOM MORAESContainer What I MeantA. S. MUKTHAYAKKALittle Poems AYYAPPA PANIKERThe Prison O. V. USHADoubtKEDARNATH SINGHOn Reading a Love Poem JYOTSNA MILANWoman, 2 AMRITA PRITAMTalkDailyWages UMASHANKAR JOSHI‘Before I met you’ An Apology SUNANDA TRIPATHYTryst NABANEETA DEV SENFig Tree AntaraHIRA BANSODEWoman ANONYMOUSDrowning MUDDUPALANIRadha Instructs Ila, Krsna’s New Bride, in the Arts of Love NANDURI SUBBARAOBlow Out the Lamp NABANEETA DEV SEN Beginning and End ANURADHA MAHAPATRAGuiltfulTEJI GROVERJealousy 1 BHASWATI ROY CHAUDHURISide by Side GAGAN GILLShe Touches Him RAJANI PARULEKARThe Snake Couple AYYAPPA PANIKER‘To me your body’ FAHMIDAH RIAZ‘Come, give me your hand’A. K. RAMANUJANLove Poem for a Wife, 2 JAYANTA MAHAPATRAThe IndianWay VIKRAM SETHUnclaimedKAMALA DAS (KAMALA SURAYYA)The Old Playhouse KEKI N. DARUWALLATo My Daughter Rookzain SUJATA BHATTSherdi ARUN KOLATKARChaitanya VIKRAM SETHFrom The Golden GateJAYADEVA From GitagovindaJoyful KrishnaEcstatic Krishna PARTINGFrom Amarusataka‘To go’MUTTA‘So free am I, so gloriously free’SUMANGALAMATA‘A woman well set free!’ MIRABAI‘He’s left me’ JAYADEVA From GitagovindaCareless Krishna MAMALATAN From KuruntokaiWhat She SaidKACCIPETTU NANNAKAIYAR From KuruntokaiWhat She SaidKAPILAR From KuruntokaiWhat She SaidFrom Gathasaptasati ‘Separation’s fire’ ‘Aunt’ From Gahakoso ‘Scornfully’KAPILAR From AinkurunuruWhat Her Friend SaidCANDRAKA From Sarngadharapaddhati‘At day’s end’ SRIVARA From Subhashitavali of Vallabhadeva‘I know’ GHALIBNear the Zam ZamWell Some Exaggerations FAIZ AHMED FAIZAny Lover to Any Beloved From Gathasaptasati‘They whisper the cruel one’ ‘Unable to count’ ‘Distance destroys love’ ‘His form’ RABINDRANATH TAGORE‘He never came to me’ Comings and Goings From I Won’t Let You Go DILIP CHITREFrom Travelling in a CageCHINU MODIElegy KAIFI AZMIHumiliation AYYAPPA PANIKERHow Well Have I Forgotten! AMRITA PRITAMThe Sigh That Breathes Fire FAHMIDAH RIAZStoningAGHA SHAHDID ALI A Rehearsal of Loss NIRENDRANATH CHAKRAVARTYThe Bloodstained Trophies AMRITA PRITAM The Tale of Fire SUGATHA KUMARI Night Rain P. BHASKARAN Sometimes, Remember Me KABITA SINHA The Last Door’s Name is Sorrow JAYANATA MAHAPATRA Poem for Angela Elston AGHA SHAHID ALIFrom A Nostalgist’s Map of America VIKRAM SETH From The Golden Gate NISSIM EZEKIEL Description AGHA SHAHID ALI Film Bhajan Found on a 78 RPM MEENA ALEXANDER Closing the Kamasutra KISHWAR NAHEED A Story Among Many History Does Not Repeat Itself AgreementFAIZ AHMED FAIZ ‘Do not ask of me, my love’ Acknowledgments