Poems by Taranand Viyogi

Taranand Viyogi, a contemporary author writing in Maithili and Hindi, has produced work in several genres: from poetry to literary criticism to memoir to short stories. Viyogi is a versatile writer, scholar, and cultural theorist who has authored nearly 40 books, and he is a leading voice in Dalit literature within Maithili.

Viyogi’s poetry moves between the intimate and the political, bringing memory, faith, caste and the contradictions of everyday life into close focus. Rooted in Mithila, yet attentive to the realities of the present, his poems often begin with the ordinary and open into larger questions of existence, power, and human dignity.

In these four poems, a mother’s sacrifice becomes a meditation on life and loss; ritual exposes the hypocrisies of power; reverence for the dead reveals the neglect of the living; and a parrot taught to repeat “Sitaram” becomes an unsettling metaphor for captivity and obedience. His poetry draws its force from irony, tenderness, and the rhythms of everyday speech.

One of the important contemporary voices in Maithili literature, Viyogi’s poetry collections include “Dharashayi Hebak Samay”, “Duniya Ghar Mehman”, “Pralay Rahasya”, and Hastakshep”. His critical and biographical works include “Tumi Chir Sarathi”, “Yugon Ka Yatri”, “Jeevan Kya Jiya”…