Dhanwa

A prominent Hindi poet’s compelling testament to the struggles and resilience of India’s marginalized communities.

A voice of the marginalized and a staunch critic of the establishment, Alok Dhanwa brilliantly captures the ethos of a turbulent era in India through his poetry. Born in 1948, in Munger, Bihar, he witnessed the rise and fall of political movements and wrote against the backdrop of the Maoist and Naxalite struggles. This collection, the first book-length translation of his work into English, brings a glimpse of a volatile nation coming to grips with its own existence to new readers.

His poetry highlights the ongoing fight for justice and identity in an ever-changing state that remains starkly relevant to the contemporary Indian polity. Dhanwa’s writing is a beacon for the working class, a testament to resistance, and a reminder that the struggle for a better world is both eternal and essential. In his universe, love, rebellion, armed resistance, and the everyday coexist. With World Is Made Up Every Day, he paints a vivid portrait of rural India’s landscapes and humanity’s capacity to defy power in all its forms. This book is not just a collection of poems; it is a call to keep the spirit of resistance alive and to live meaningfully in a world that constantly evolves but often remains unchanged.

Alok Dhanwa is a Hindi poet whose work has been translated into English and Russian. A resident of Patna, he previously worked at Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University, Wardha, and Bihar Sangeet Natak Akademi. Saudamini Deo is a writer and translator. Her translations include works by Bhuwaneswar and Rajkamal Chaudhary. She is the co-founding editor of RIC Journal and her debut book of essays on Kali temples, La Langue du Kali, is forthcoming.