They say magic happens when women support each other. ‘Mujh Jaisi’, a Hindi poetry podcast that celebrates womanhood, brings together seven women from varied backgrounds – both geographically and professionally.
While the poem was originally written in Hindi by Pune-based writer Garima Mishra, it has now been translated into six languages – Marathi, Assamese, Punjabi, Malayalam, English, as well as French – by six women from different walks of life.
The collaborating artists include a national award-winning filmmaker, an entrepreneur, a yoga therapist, an author, a theatre and film actor, and also an environmentalist. These women have not only translated ‘Mujh Jaisi’ but have also recited the poem for the podcast. Recently, the Hindi and French version of the poem was also run by Canada-based radio station CIUT FM.
Elaborating on Mujh Jaisi, says Mishra, “What makes it special is that it’s written by a woman, it’s about women, and is translated and narrated by women. All the six women with whom I have collaborated are special in their own ways.”
The poem is based on the theme that through the universal sisterhood runs a tacit thread of similar dreams and nightmares, a toss of confidence and diffidence, a throw of challenges and opportunities.
While Dr Bobby Sarma Baruah, who has done Assamese version of ‘Mujh Jaisi’ titled ‘Mur Nisina’, is an Assam-based national award-winning Assamese filmmaker, film researcher, producer, and screenwriter whose award-winning movies include Adomya, Sonar Baran Pakhi, and Mishing, Pune-based Dhanashree Heblikar, the co-founder of Swatantra Theatre and a theatre and film actor, has done ‘Mujh Jaisi’ in Marathi. She received the best actress award for the year 2018 from the Maharashtra government.
“When I read this poem, I was touched and fell in love with it. The poem represents all women, irrespective of where she comes from. I feel that every ordinary and extraordinary woman has a beautiful story to share. This poem tells our story to the world,” cites Heblikar.
The Punjabi version ‘Mere Vargi’ is done by Pune-based Sunanda Mehta, the author of the biography ‘Extraordinary Life of Sunanda Pushkar’. Recently she has translated the poems of her great-grandfather, a celebrated poet of the early 1900s, from Punjabi to English.
France-based Krys, who works in the medical field and teaches therapeutic yoga, in addition to being a French literature enthusiast, has translated and narrated ‘Mujh Jaisi’ in French titled Est-ce Moi?, while Renuka Vijairaghavan, who runs the Literature Club in Pune and is also a sustainable lifestyle coach has done the English version.
“The poem ‘Mujh Jaisi’ brings out the universality of the feminine and the thread that binds women of all races and cultures together. Vulnerability as a determined resolve that defines the quintessential feminine is touched upon sensitively in the poem. The fact that a woman values loving relationships above all is dealt with in no uncertain terms,” says Vijairaghavan.
Kerala-based Renitha Nalini Ravindran, who is a director at Be Worldwide, has done ‘Mujh Jaisi’ in Malayalam and indulges in writing Malayalam poetry.
Mujh Jaisi is available on the poetry podcast titled ‘LafzByGarima’ on various platforms such as Spotify, GooglePodcast, ApplePodcast, RadioPublic.com, Chartoo.in, Pocket Casts, etc. LafzByGarima features nearly 30 poems by Mishra in Hindi language.
