The storm still gathers: Remembering Vaidyanath Mishra, aka Nagarjun, the people’s poet

He wrote in two languages and lived in none. He walked barefoot through the burning questions of his time, clothed only in rage and tenderness. Born Vaidyanath Mishra under a thatched roof in a Bihar village, he became Yatri in Maithili and Nagarjun in Hindi, a people’s poet who spat fire and whispered grief in the same breath. A Buddhist monk turned Marxist, he could chant the Dhammapada and denounce the state with equal ease. He wandered not just across geographies but through the inner map of a fractured nation, speaking for farmers, women, fakirs, insurgents, and the landless.

Nagarjun’s literary output was vast, fearless, and genre-defying. His major poetry collections include Yugdhara, Kal Aur Aaj, Satrange Pankhon Wali, Talab Ki Machhliyan, Khichri, Viplav Dekha Humne, Hazar Hazar Bahon Wali, Purani Jutiyon Ka Koras, Tumne Kaha Tha, Akhir Aisa Kya Kah Diya Maine, Iss Gubare Ki Chhaya Mein, Yeh Danturit Muskaan, Main Military Ka Boodha Ghoda, Ratnagarbha, Aise Bhi Hum Kya, Bhool Jao Purane Sapne, Apne Khet Mein Chandana, Fasal, Akal Aur Uske Baad, Harijan Gatha, Badal Ko Ghirate Dekha Hai, Aaj Main Beej Hoon, and Mantra Kavita.

His novels, raw, rooted, and deeply political, include Rati Nath Ki Chachi, Balachnama, Baba Bateshar Nath, Himalaya Ki Betiyaan, Nai Paudh, Varun Ke Bete, Dukh Mochan, Ugratara, Jamania Ka Baba, Kumbhi Pak, Paro, Asman Mein Chanda Tare, Abhinandan, Imaratia, Sita Usko, and Navturiya. His essays...

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