Songs of Belligerence

The Woman at the Water Kiosk and other poems is Santosh Bakaya's third book of poems, containing, what she calls, notes of belligerence at the sad state of mankind, going rapidly downhill. It is mainly in her usual rhyming mode, rich in vocabulary and alliteration, and richest in stories that continue to enthrall us in her inimitable style and wring from us many a tear. What is new is a restless impatience in her writing, a stripping off of masks as if she has not much time left, with keeping up the facade of niceties and genteelness, replaced instead by a weariness at death, life and everything in between. There are even surprising moments where she speaks of love that is physical in a bolder vein than before, and the undercurrent of love being the panacea for all ills is still there, though slowly being muted for a tougher, harder realistic stance. I am impressed most by this, the Victorianism being replaced by Modernism, at least in tone, if still not in form. Worth reading as being full of this new tone of surprises. Dr. A.V. Koshy A teacher, writer and a family man