My family and other animals

Ruth Vanita’s translation from Hindi of Mahadevi Varma’s autobiographical work will be loved by those for whom the idea of a chosen family embraces not just humans but birds and animals too

Known for her scholarship and fiction highlighting stories of queer love, Ruth Vanita has now translated poet and prose writer Mahadevi Varma’s autobiographical work Mera Parivaar (1972) from Hindi to English. Titled My Family, this book will be most loved by those for whom the idea of a chosen family is not limited to fellow humans but also embraces birds and animals.

In the introduction, Vanita writes that the book “has never before been translated into English. It is the most neglected of her works, hardly mentioned by biographers and critics.” It seems quite unusual that such a profound and heartwarming piece of literature authored by someone who is “commonly acknowledged as the greatest 21st century woman poet in Hindi” has remained obscure. Vanita’s rediscovery and translation is, therefore, nothing short of a public service.

Varma had built an aviary to house the birds and animals she looked after. Ruth Vanita writes, “Mahadevi’s concern for entrapped, hunted, and tortured animals is related to a concern for all those who are oppressed and exploited. The 19th century was the period that gave rise to modern movements for laws to prevent cruelty to several groups and to win rights for them. These groups include women, children, manual labourers, factory workers, prisoners, the poor, the mentally ill, and animals.” The book is divided into seven chapters. Each of the first six chapters focuses on one particular bird or animal in Varma’s chosen family

— her peacock Neelkanth, her squirrel Gillu, her doe Sona, her rabbit Durmukh, her cow Gaura, and her dog Neelu. The seventh chapter is about three creatures: Varma’s mongoose Nikki, her dog Rosie, and her mare Rani. Before these chapters comes Varma’s moving preface, which tells the story of how she came to rescue birds and animals in the first place.

The author considers animal lives to be as precious as human lives, and is willing to go to great lengths to ensure their safety. This book is reminiscent of a verse from Shantideva’s 8th-century text Bodhicharyavatara (A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life translated by Raji Ramanan): “Gladly do I rejoice / In the virtue that relieves the misery / Of all those in unfortunate states / And that gives happiness to the suffering.”

It is touching to note that for Padma Vibhushan and Jnanpith awardee Varma, who was one of the four pillars of the Chhayavad movement in Hindi poetry, each creature that lived with her is not only her child but also her muse. She does not use the language of “animal rights” in this book but her portraits of these beings are so loving that it would be impossible for any reader to not view them with respect.

Varma was principal, and later vice-chancellor, of the Prayag Mahila Vidyapeeth. Most of the birds and animals that she rescued were from Allahabad. Neelkanth, the peacock, was freed from a cage in a market when he was a baby. Gillu, the squirrel, was found in a flowerpot. He was a baby that had fallen out of a nest and two crows were wounding him with their beaks. Durmukh, the rabbit, was brought to the author’s house by a gardener who rescued him from being eaten by a cat.

The book has a few lovely black-and-white illustrations by Antra K to help you visualise all these creatures, but Varma’s word-pictures will make you feel a profound tenderness for each of them. For instance, she describes how Neelu, her dog, took care of sparrow babies that fell to the ground during unsuccessful attempts to fly. “Sometimes, to get very small nestlings restored to their nest, he would bring them to me, holding them gently in his mouth.”

It is particularly amusing to read Varma’s record of the interactions between inmates of the aviary. Of Neelkanth, the peacock, she writes, “His love for these creatures was just as extraordinary as his punitive measures. He would often sit down in the dust with his wings spread out, and they all would play catch-as-catch-can in his long tail and thick wings.” Once, Neelkanth even saved a rabbit from being killed by a snake, and became the hero of the aviary.

Readers who are inclined to pick up this book for the cuteness factor should know that she also writes about how each animal met its end. These are not sanitised tales.

This book also mentions Varma’s cats Chitra and Godhuli, her dogs Hemant and Basant, her peahen Radha, and her dog Flora, but they do not have entire chapters dedicated to them. They make guest appearances, giving readers a broader sense of the chosen family that Varma had created.

Readers who are curious about how Varma came to have this unconventional family will find their answers in Ruth Vanita’s introduction: “Her father conformed to the custom of his community by marrying her off when she was nine...” As a child bride, Varma wept continuously during the few days she spent with her in-laws. Later, as an adult, when she was supposed to go and live with them once again, Varma refused to participate in the ceremony organised for her departure. Struck by remorse, her father let her stay.

This book could serve as an inspiration to those who want to remain single or have families that do not fit into the moulds that they have been conditioned to see as normative.

Through her introduction and her translation, Ruth Vanita does a commendable job of bringing readers this fascinating literary document of Varma’s “happy single life”, which was blessed by an astonishing variety of creatures who nurtured her as much as she nurtured them.

Mahadevi Varma; Translated by

Ruth Vanita

107pp, ₹399, Penguin

Chintan Girish Modi is a writer, educator and researcher. He is @chintan_connect on Twitter