2016 | GITANJALI & BEYOND 1: 169-176

Chitrangada
Anjana BASU

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons | © Anjana Basu.

http://gitanjaliandbeyond.napier.ac.uk
170 | ANJANA BASU

1.
Manipur’s king wished for heirs
For continuity to his power
He dreamt, he prayed, he meditated
Until god it is said relented
And in the middle of the celebrations was born… a girl

Undaunted the king began the task

Of bringing up a prince
A warrior girl armed with strength and skill
Instead of seductive grace
She rode among the horseman and discoursed with politicians
A boy in everything she did
Unregretting, unaware

Till a hero came to the forest kingdom

A brief chance encounter
Moved by his glance she wished for change
With her father’s strength of purpose
Till love said, “It is granted”
And armed her in grace and seduction
The drift of silk instead of an arrow’s power

The hero was hers and her wish

But her true nature?
What of that?

My Chitrangada is a tale
Of life’s paradox
Between how we live and how we wish to live
Subject to our wishes
Or in affirmation of our true identity?

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2.
The year is turning
Evening growls at the edge of day
Casting a long shadow over the forest
In the glade the deer couple cower
While the leopard slides silent through the leaves
Another dappled shade in search of prey
In another world the hours grow long
And the sunlight reaches almost out to dawn
Sun meeting sun
While tired birds blink for night
Young and old mingling their rays
Till set or rise is almost forgotten
In that coupled gold

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3.
A long striding form in the forest
Panther slim, hunter hero
Reveals his name
And the world changes
A seeming boy
Shaken to the core
By a thunderstroke called love
Utters a wish to be boy no more
But girl, all woman
Would you call it weakness
or a new beginning
In the light of day
When one by one illusion’s veils fall away
And the truth shines clear

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4.
Manipur’s ruler was holding court
Rows of nobles surrounded his golden throne
The kingdom’s honour and pride gathered in full majesty
When the lion doors opened and through them
Came the drift of silk and the lilt of anklets
A woman who glided trailing perfume
Who are you? Demanded the ruler
While the courtiers stirred in awe
Chitrangada came the answer
In a murmur held low
You? My prince-princess?
What game is this?
No said the ruler you must be
Some court dancer new come to town
Practicing your tricks
There was no recognition in his eyes
Though somewhere in mind a dim dawning
Those eyes perhaps…but not that shape
Am I a fool? He asked aloud
Whoever you are leave this court
And be thankful
That pretty head stays on its shoulders
Father, she said, just once, in a plea
That he did not hear
For your audacity you are banished
From my presence
A twelve month sentence till you learn your place
Chitrangada is out hunting
Otherwise death would have been yours
Be thankful for that grace

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5.
Manipur’s queen was unprepared
For the revelation
A woman gliding through her doors
A beauty amongst many,
Diamond amongst pearls
Emerald among jade
Beautiful she said and your name
Chitrangada
The same as the heir’s
But you are all woman
And the heir – there her voice broke
“Mother look at me,” said the woman
The queen met her eyes, recognised, and looked away
Beautiful said the queen again
And a trace of sadness brushed her voice
For what could have been
A child taken from her by a god’s careless gift
Too late for that girl and for this
She shook her head and said, “I do not know you.”

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6.
Love wraps her round with its veils
The bow cast aside and the sword
Herself forgotten, unrecognised
All to enslave a man who left her in his dreams
For horse and spear
And his band of brothers
Pale riders in the earth’s dawn
Irony that she could once have ridden too
But no, that thought
Might break the spell

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Anjana Basu

Anjana Basu works as an advertising consultant

in Calcutta. Her poems have featured in an
anthology brought out by Penguin India,
Writer's Workshop and recently by Authorpress.
The BBC has broadcast her short stories and
Orient Longman brought out a collection called
The Agency Raga. In America she has been
published in Gowanus, The Blue Moon Review
and Recursive Angel, to name a few. In Canada
she has appeared in The Antigonish Review. The
Edinburgh Review and The Saltzburg Review
have also featured her work. In 2003, Harper
Collins India brought out her novel Curses In
Ivory. In 2004, she was awarded a Hawthornden
Fellowship in Scotland where she worked on her
second novel, Black Tongue, published by Roli in
2007. In February 2010, her children's novel
Chinku and the Wolfboy was brought out by
Roli. Her novel Rhythms of Darkness, published
by Gyaana Books, came out in October 2011. In
the Shadow of the Leaves was brought out by
TERI in 2014 and was launched at Oxford on
July 25th, Jim Corbett's birthday.

She has worked on scripts with director Rituparno Ghosh for Antarmahal
and The Last Lear and has subtitled several of his films including Unishe
April, Dahan and Chokher Bali.

Her by-line has appeared in Vogue India, Conde Nast Traveller India, and
India Today Travel Plus. She reviews books for publications like Outlook.

2016 | GITANJALI & BEYOND 1: 169-176