Herstory - Neha Bansal

Author: Neha Bansal

Genre: Poetry

Rating: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: An interesting collection of feminist poems.

I can count on one hand the number of poetry collections I have read. I don’t have as much a fondness for poems as I do for prose, nor do I have any poetic bone in my body that allows me to dig deep under the metaphorical layers to find the essence of the lyric. So when Neha approached me saying she wanted me to read her book, my first response to her was “My poetry knowledge is zilch.” She still sent me her book. Thankfully, her poems were of the style that I can read AND understand.

The preface begins with the African proverb: “Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” Right there, I was captivated by what was to come in the book. What a brilliant way to introduce the idea of feminist-oriented poems! To use Neha’s own words, the poems cover “the life of a woman from womb to tomb.”

The 39 poems can be broadly classified into two categories.

1. Poems on a whole range of themes dealing with women’s issues – female foeticide, rape, molestation, infertility, and so on. In some cases, the topic didn’t come out clearly to me until I juxtaposed the poem with the accompanying illustration and figured out the link. (A few of the poems come with associated sketches, not all.) But I blame this more on my lack of understanding of poetic nuances than on the poem itself.

2. Poems that are more like narratives and cast a spotlight on the unheard story of women from Indian mythology such as Renuka, Yashoda, Mandodari, Hidimbi, and many others. I was not very sure of this latter category as Indian mythology is among my weak points, but to my surprise, it is this set that resonated most with me. All the characters are ones I have read about somewhere or the other, so to see them being given a genuine voice without making it seem like an OTT retelling was a deeply satisfying experience.

The two categories are not in separate sections but appear in any order, thus not creating any saturation.

Neha happens to have an astounding vocabulary, but she keeps her poems simple in words and thought such that the intent doesn’t get buried under blankets of verbosity. Every poem is understandable to a lay reader, which makes the book a great option even for beginners to poetry collections. (Such as Yours Truly.)

I cannot comment on the rhythmic merit or stylistic attributes of the poems because I am not at all equipped to do so. All I know is, I understood the poems a lot more than I had assumed, and I relished the collection a lot more than I had expected. Covering the entire range from the fallen woman to the ‘ideal woman’, the book stresses on what it means to be a woman in this patriarchal society. Definitely recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and these are my honest thoughts about it.