About the Book : Surs Ocean : Classic Hindi Poetry in Translation
The blind poet Surdas has been regarded as the epitome of artistry in Hindi
verse from the end of the sixteenth century, when he lived, to the present day.
His fame rests upon his remarkable refashioning of the widely known narrative of
the Hindu deity Krishna and his lover Radha into lyrics that are at once elegant
and approachable. Surdass popularity led to the proliferation, through an
energetic oral tradition, of poems ascribed to him, known collectively as the
S?rs?gar.
This award-winning translation reconstructs the early tradition of Surdass
verse—the poems that were known to