WHERE THE WORD BECOMES FLESH, where reason is dazzled, where magic reigns supreme: enter the world of N.D. Rajkumar through Anushiya Ramaswamy’s translation. Sensuous and ferocious, his poetry cracks open a magic-drenched, living dalit history. Born into a traditional shaman community in a border town between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Rajkumar claims disparate discourses as subjects of his poetry. His angry goddesses embody unfettered power and freedom. He writes not for inclusion into a centre. He has redrawn the lines. The centre must fear the Other, the darkness, the Isakki, the mother with her breasts full of poison:We who cannot experienceThe BrahmamLink hands and walkWith our Jungle Gods