Bandana Sahoo, who writes under the evocative pen name Shibangi Dhara, is a Voice of Life, Struggle, and Sacred Femininity
- Shibangi Dhara presents herself as a poet deeply sensitive to the rhythms of life, society, and the human condition.
Analysis by Nurul Hoque
Literature is not only an art form but also an inward journey where personal experiences, cultural heritage, and human concerns converge. Among contemporary voices emerging from India, Bandana Sahoo, who writes under the evocative pen name Shibangi Dhara, presents herself as a poet deeply sensitive to the rhythms of life, society, and the human condition. She writes in Odia, English, and Hindi, weaving a tri-lingual literary fabric that resonates across diverse audiences. Sahoo does not limit herself to poetry alone; her creative spectrum extends to fiction, articles, columns, quotes, and novels. This versatility reflects her vision that literature should mirror “every aspect of the society,” since, as she believes, “every single thing in the society is connected to our life.” Her ceaseless quest for learning and her empathetic engagement with the world mark her as a writer of conscience and imagination.
This article attempts to analyze Sahoo’s literary essence by reading her biography alongside two of her poems, “Bustle of Life” and “Devi”. Both texts open portals to her thematic world: the struggles of existence in modern chaos, the yearning for peace and intimacy, the sacredness of womanhood, and the resilience of spirit. Her poetry can be understood as a bridge between personal longing and universal human truths, making her voice both intimate and expansive.
The Poet behind the Pen Name
The choice of the pen name Shibangi Dhara is itself an act of symbolic self-expression. While Bandana Sahoo anchors her identity in the real, the pseudonym suggests a metaphysical dimension—“Shibangi” evoking divine associations with Shiva and cosmic energy, while “Dhara” translates as flow or stream. Thus, in her very name, Sahoo situates herself at the confluence of spirituality and continuity, creativity and permanence. She signs all her letters with this name, an affirmation that her writings are not separate from her existence but extensions of her lived being.
Her biography reveals her wide engagement with different forms of writing. The commitment to multiple genres—poetry, fiction, articles, novels—demonstrates her refusal to be confined. Each form, as she says, “has different specialties,” offering varied ways of learning and reflecting. For her, writing is not merely an art but a practice of consciousness, where every detail of society can inspire and instruct.
The Hustle and Longing: Reading “Bustle of Life”
The poem “Bustle of Life” opens with the candid admission:
“In the hustle and bustle of life
It makes me a non-believer,
When to laugh;
When will I cry again?”
Here, Sahoo captures the existential exhaustion of modernity. Life’s ceaseless rush drains faith and joy, leaving the speaker uncertain even about the basic rhythms of laughter and sorrow. The ambivalence of emotions is a key theme in her poetry—one is caught between restlessness and hope, between distance and intimacy. The line “He is far from an atmosphere of peace” points to a figure, perhaps a beloved or perhaps symbolic of serenity itself, who remains distant amidst chaos.
Yet, the poem resists despair. The speaker continues to wait:
“With breathless eyes
I am waiting for him.
Far away…!”
The ellipses and exclamations dramatize longing, underscoring how desire itself becomes a sustaining force. The imagery intensifies when the wind and evening are personified as intimate presences:
“The wind calls me in its passion,
In the touch of that evening’s coolness
To hold in your arms.”
Here, natural elements substitute the absent beloved, suggesting that even in alienation, nature offers solace and symbolic intimacy.
The poem then turns to sensory details of memory and hope: “that loose white hair of yours,” “that wet sand on the gray beach,” “thousands of footprints.” These images do not merely illustrate longing but dramatize the fragile persistence of life amidst despair. Footprints on wet sand, easily washed away, become emblems of transience, yet they “make themselves felt.”
The speaker acknowledges pain—“feet that are still on the thorny path covered in blood”—but reclaims agency through creativity:
“With selfless feelings
Draw has many colorful pictures,
To be lifted by the wet tide of love
With you.”
Thus, “Bustle of Life” is not only about the suffocation of existence but also about the human capacity to dream, draw, and hope even when life seems unbearable. It reflects Sahoo’s belief that literature transforms restlessness into meaning, and pain into creative energy.
The Sacred Feminine: Reading “Devi”
If “Bustle of Life” dramatizes chaos and longing, “Devi” presents a meditation on sacredness, embodiment, and womanhood. The title itself—Devi—invokes the Hindu concept of the goddess, the divine feminine that embodies power (Shakti), nurturing, and resilience.
The poem begins starkly:
“I saw the body.
Just a body!!
A picture of words.”
This opening destabilizes traditional notions of sanctity. The body, often revered or romanticized, is reduced here to “just a body.” The double exclamation marks underscore the shock of this recognition. Yet, by calling it “a picture of words,” Sahoo implies that bodies, like poems, are texts—sites of meaning, expression, and interpretation.
The body is then depicted in dualities: “Sweet smiles all around. Lifeless forest, Life-threatening.” This juxtaposition suggests that human existence is simultaneously tender and perilous, fertile and barren.
The poem introduces social and spiritual commentary:
“Dead atheist,
Or unattached self-love.
In the mud field
The heretic wandered the path.”
These lines critique materialism and detachment from collective care, while hinting at the marginalization of those who deviate from societal norms. The figure of the “heretic” symbolizes both exclusion and resilience.
The climax of the poem shifts to reverence:
“She stood up and sat down Tejaswini.
Green all around.
The food of bread,
And a handful of dreams.”
“Tejaswini” means radiant or luminous, associating the female presence with light and energy. Bread symbolizes sustenance, while “a handful of dreams” points to aspirations beyond survival. In this synthesis, womanhood becomes both practical and transcendent—providing nourishment while embodying vision.
The poem ends on an affirming note:
“But he is holy.
Sweet talker
The victor of the glory of light.”
The “holy” presence is not merely divine in a conventional sense but grounded in human resilience, compassion, and creativity. In this way, “Devi” reclaims sanctity not as distant divinity but as embodied humanity.
Themes across Her Work
Through these two poems, several themes emerge that characterize Bandana Sahoo’s literary ethos:
- Restlessness and Yearning: Life’s chaos, as in “Bustle of Life,” often leaves individuals restless. Yet, yearning—whether for peace, love, or meaning—becomes a vital force of survival.
- Embodiment and Sacredness: In “Devi,” the body is both fragile and holy, reflecting Sahoo’s feminist consciousness. She challenges conventional binaries of purity and impurity, sacred and profane.
- Nature as Companion: Both poems rely heavily on natural imagery—wind, evening, sand, leaves, forest, green. Nature becomes a medium through which human emotions are expressed and healed.
- Resilience Through Creativity: Whether it is “drawing colorful pictures” amidst bloodied feet or finding “a handful of dreams” in the mud field, her poetry insists on the transformative power of imagination.
- Social Consciousness: Her biography emphasizes that she “tries to touch every aspect of the society.” This is visible in “Devi” where hunger, nudity, and dreams symbolize socio-economic struggles, and in “Bustle of Life” where alienation mirrors modern urban realities.
Conclusion: A Flow of Learning and Light
Bandana Sahoo, as Shibangi Dhara, emerges as a poet whose work is rooted in both personal introspection and societal awareness. Her biography reveals her commitment to learning from every corner of life; her poems embody this by weaving personal longing with universal symbols, intimate emotions with social critique.
“Bustle of Life” and “Devi” illustrate the dual dimensions of her work—the first grounded in existential restlessness and the search for intimacy, the second in the sacred resilience of womanhood and collective survival. Together, they testify to her belief in the transformative power of literature to express, question, and heal.
In the end, Sahoo’s poetry is like her chosen name: a dhara, a stream—ever-flowing, reflective, and nourishing. It is a literature of restlessness but also of renewal, a literature that insists that even in the hustle of life and the wounds of society, one can still find peace, dreams, and light.
Here I wrote a poem for Bandana Sahoo titled “Shivangi”
SHIVANGI
—For Bandana Sahu
By Nurul Hoque
Love is not a bargain with destiny.
It breathes in silence,
In the quiet faith of a pure heart.
A person who walks with truth
Does not lose, even when deceived.
The world may turn its face away,
But the sky keeps watching.
Sometimes love doesn’t return
From the same eyes it left for—
Yet it comes back,
Through a stranger’s kindness,
A friend’s voice on a lonely night,
A child’s smile that feels familiar.
The universe keeps its promises
To those who love beyond themselves.
Nothing selfless ever fades,
It only changes its direction.
And in that invisible circle of return,
The soul of Shivangi glows—
Unbroken, unbent, still believing.
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Nurul Hoque is a poet, time-conscious rhymer, novelist, and editor. He is skilled at composing poetry, rhymes, stories, and songs. He has been working as a writer for almost three decades. He was elected World Laureate in Literature in 2018 by World Nation Writers Union, Kazakhstan (www.wnwu.org). He is the executive director of Munir Mezyed Foundation for Arts and Culture, Romania. He edited Odyssey International Anthology of World Poets 2020. He is also the chief coordinator of Odyssey International (headquartered in Romania). Mr. Hoque was born at Porikot village of Gunabati Union under Chauddagram upazila in Comilla (formerly Tripura) in Bangladesh. He has written several books, 30 of which are well known in his mother tongue, Bengali. His poetry, famed for its elegance and intimacy, covers a variety of themes, chiefly peace, nature, love, womanhood, and divinity. He achieved Diploma in Engineering Mechanical and Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (AMIE) from the Swedish Bangladesh Institute of Technology, Kaptai, Bangladesh.
