N.D. Rajkumar is a poet in the bardic tradition who performs his poetry, setting them to raga-based improvisations. He is from the dalit kaniyan community known for the art of black magic. He has published seven volumes of poetry in Tamil and has written lyrics for one feature film, Madhupana Kadai (The Liquor Shop). Anushiya Ramaswamy is a faculty with the Department of English at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA.
<p>WHERE THE WORD BECOMES FLESH, where reason is dazzled, where magic reigns supreme: enter world of N.D. Rajkumar through Anushiya Ramaswamy’s translation. Sensuous and ferocious, his poetry cracks open a magic-drenched, living dalit history. Born into a traditional shaman community in a border town between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Rajkumar claims disparate discourses as subjects of his poetry. His angry goddesses embody unfettered power and freedom. He writes not for inclusion into a centre. He has redrawn the lines. The centre must fear the Other, the darkness, the Isakki, the mother with her breasts full of poison:</p><p>We who cannot experience</p><p>The Brahmam</p><p>Link hands and walk</p><p>With our Jungle Gods</p><div><br></div>
