I, Lalla: The Poems Of Lal Ded (Penguin Classics)

Lalla was a woman living in the Fourteenth Century in the Kashmir Valley in India. A total of two hundred and fifty poems have been attributed to her; this collection contains one hundred and fifty. These are typically short poems. Most consist of four lines, a few have one or two more.These poems are not easily categorized. While an ostensibly an expression of Kashmiri Shaivism, they are revered both in the Islamic, Sufi and Hindu traditions. They are short, declarative, expressions of religious devotion and yearning and describes a soul’s desire, and journey, to experience the Divine. These poems frequently express Lalla’s own frustration and anguish at ever reaching the exalted state of divine experience. She is at times frustrated, at times expressing doubt whether she will ever arrive there. Most describes the joy of finally uniting with God, however fleeting it might be, and how easy it was to reach there. Her poems are simple, poignant, and powerful.

Lal Ded or "Lalla" was a 14th century yogini in Islamic Kashmir - she left her brahmin husband and family and went wandering in the world as a renunciate mystic poet. Wow - this is amazing stuff, in line with Rumi, William Blake, and Emily Dickinson. This book has a really good contextual introduction and then dives into Lalla's 4 line, magical poems.

This book is amazing. I often read a few random pages before bed and sometimes I’m so inspired I can’t sleep!

Arrived quickly, well packaged, and as advertised. Thank you!

Lalla was a woman living in the Fourteenth Century in the Kashmir Valley in India. A total of two hundred and fifty poems have been attributed to her; this collection contains one hundred and fifty. These are typically short poems. Most consist of four lines, a few have one or two more.These poems are not easily categorized. While an ostensibly an expression of Kashmiri Shaivism, they are revered both in the Islamic, Sufi and Hindu traditions. They are short, declarative, expressions of religious devotion and yearning and describes a soul’s desire, and journey, to experience the Divine. These poems frequently express Lalla’s own frustration and anguish at ever reaching the exalted state of divine experience. She is at times frustrated, at times expressing doubt whether she will ever arrive there. Most describes the joy of finally uniting with God, however fleeting it might be, and how easy it was to reach there. Her poems are simple, poignant, and powerful.

This is an excellent contribution to understanding religion in Kashmir and one of the beloved saints of the region. Lalla' poems/sayings form an essential part of the people's humanistic and spiritual outlook. This is much better than Coleman Bark's work for many reasons, he doesn't have deep knowledge of the religions or the languages, which is true of his work on Rumi too. This author is deeply intimate with Kashmiri religions and language. I hope this publication will lead towards more work on the Rishis (Sufi order), who are considered the heirs of Lalla in many ways.

Tearfully and Spiritually Beautiful!

A smart summary of the life and work of the poetess saint. Informative without getting bogged down in analysis or rambling detail.. Exactly what I was looking for.

These translations of Lallas poems by Ranjit Hoskote are amongst the best I have come across up to now and his commentaries throw light upon some of her more enigmatic writings. I have long been fascinated by Lalla and was pleased to come across this book which gives so much insight into the poems and even suggests they may not all have been written by her directly but certainly contain her spirit. She has been called the "naked poetess" as she is said to have recited her poetry bereft of clothes! This is not mentioned in this book, so whether it was a myth or just meant metaphorically I am not sure.

Lalla Ded was a siddha Kashmiri woman saint of the 14th century. This is a book of 146 vakhs (spiritual sayings) of Lalla Ded. In this book a short history of Lalla Ded is given, as also notes given on the other editions of Lalla's poems that are available.Paperback, 246 pages, only 146 vakhs (as compared to 179 vakhs of "Lal Ded revisited" by Jawahar Lal Bhatt. No Kashmiri or Sanskrit scripts of the vakhs are given, only the English translations. Bland, unimpressive notes on each verse are given at the end of the book.Ranjit Hoskote is a mediocre international professional writer. He is certainly not a sadhaka. This is just another routine literary production of his many works. His translation of Lalla's vakhs in this book is certainly not an eye-opening spiritual guide that can be treasured by advanced spiritual seekers or collectors of books on the teachings of the enlightened Masters. This unimpressive book does not do justice to Lalla's revelations of Kundalini sadhana truths (as compared to other similar books on Lalla Ded), or the many pieces of insightful advice she gives in her vakhs for dealing with life issues and sadhana problems.So, this book is not even worth the modest price of ₹299. The cover design of this book is so awful that it leaves no impression at all of the subject matter in one's mind. A shoddy production by Penguin books.

It was a chance discovery reading the comments of a recent Harikatha program of Tamil Saint Sri Avudai Akkal that I learnt that there existed Lal Ded, a Kashmiri saint in the 13th century. I am so grateful that my friend suggested this book. Ranjit Hoskete's writing on Lal Ded is a wonderful read where each page comes alive. I must now go on to find his other poetic works!

I think no explanation was required. That would have made this book more cheaper. The verses of Lal Ded are so simple and easy to comprehend. Best thing of this book was: "no tempering with the lines",

Outstanding book. The best I have found on the subject so far.