Revised English translation of Shrikant Verma's 'Magadh' released on his 37th death anniversary

New Delhi: A revised English translation of Hindi poet Shrikant Verma's masterpiece "Magadh" has been released to mark the Sahitya Akademi awardee's 37th death anniversary.

Widely regarded as one of the most important works of modern Indian poetry, the 1984 book is translated by Rahul Soni and published by Westland.

Through the poems, which are stark and urgent yet arch and richly allusive, Verma lays bare "tales of corruption, guilt, ignorance and arrogance", according to the translator.

"The first edition of this translation came out in 2013, and over the last ten years, I have seen these poems – and their cyclical view of history, their existential despair at the ways of civilisation and power – gain new meanings and new relevance.

"I hope this new edition helps them reach a new and wider audience – Shrikant Verma's Magadh is a triumph, and one of the finest collections of poetry I've ever read - one that moulds language into new locutions and one that illuminates unexamined darknesses in ourselves," wrote Soni, translator of International Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree's novel "The Roof Beneath Their Feet".

Verma, a central figure in the Nayi Kavita movement in Hindi literature, had published two collections of short fiction, a novel, a travelogue, literary interviews, essays and five collections of poetry, including "Jalsaghar" and "Magadh".

He won numerous awards for his writing, including the posthumous Sahitya Akademi Award for "Magadh" in 1987. He died in 1986 in New York after a battle with cancer.

The foreword of the new edition is written by professor Apoorvanand. It also has essays by noted Hindi poet Ashok Vajpayee and academic Mantra Mukim.

"Rahul Soni has performed the very difficult feat of rendering the poem into English... Soni Knows the power of that prosaic simplicity and has been faithful to it in his translation. The English literary world will definitely be richer after the publication of the volume, " wrote Apoorvanand.

The book, priced at Rs 599, is currently available for purchase across online and offline stores.