Author Description

Mandalas of Time blends cosmopolitan experience with the memory of India’s epics and legends, magnificent landscapes and metonymic associations. Malashri Lal’s lyrical vocabulary of change is configured around vignettes that spark the imagination yet recognise the invisible boundaries of social choice, especially for women. Sita and Radha are part of the mandala of consciousness, as are European castles and the eternal music of flowing rivers. The poetic self is intricately woven into a rare awareness of effulgence, resulting from an open-hearted receptivity to life’s lessons in patience. There is rebellion and heartbreak, too, counterpointed by ecstasy and hope. Such diversity of voice, location, moods, and a rich array of linguistic play makes this volume unique in its defiance of conventional form. For Malashri, the sources of poetic inspiration are embedded in the many layers of her cultural heritage, Rajasthan and Bengal being primary among them. Mandalas of Time is philosophic yet grounded in offering memorable poems that resonate long after the reading — they speak to the core of one’s existence.