SRIRADHA is acknowledged as a modern classic. It has been translated into many langu
ages. In this poem, Radha repudiates the image attributed to her in Vaishnav literature and explores herself through an intense experience of love and separation. She is not the playmate of Krishna; she is herself. The Radha-Krishna myth has for centuries inspired poets and artists. In SRIRADHA, Ramakanta Rath reinterprets this myth to liberate Radha from her image in traditional literature and introduces her as an exceptional character who combines in herself the tenderest emotions of love with the yearning to discover her own identity. It is a strange poem – a blend of erotic love and existentialist soul-searching. SRIRADHA won the Saraswat Samman for 1992. The English translation is by the poet himself. The poem in the original Oriya has enjoyed immense popularity among readers over the past decades.
