Reivew of 'Mata Hari: Rose of Europe' Authored by Mimin Zomi
- Chrysanthemum Chronicles
- May 24
- 3 min read
A Sprawling epic poem from the Eastern Bard of Singngat, that will transport you to another world of the 1900s.
This poetry book, written in the style of a modern epic poem, is an extremely niche narrative that will cater best to people with scholarly pursuits or readers who love to indulge themselves in classic forms of poetry like Ballads or Cantos. This book, I would say, seems to me to be the first of its kind coming from a poet belonging to the land of Singngat, a village on the Indo-Myanmar border. And, the poet has rightfully glorified himself with the title, ‘The Eastern Bard’, which after reading this voluminous book, seemed so apt. Before I talk about the book further, let me tell you that Mimin’s life story impressed me greatly. Coming from a place where he couldn’t pursue higher studies, he became an autodidact and educated himself extensively by reading as many books on classic literature that he could acquire, which is commendable in itself. His diction and command over the language are superlative, and the way the narrative flows within the book shows his wider knowledge and research on his subject. And the way he has chosen to write- A biography on Mata Hari, shows his greater interest towards the history of literature in its most unexplored form yet.
Nevertheless, the world knows a lot about the infamous Mata Hari already, who was born as Margaretha Zelle in 1876 to an affluent Dutch family. Later on, she chose a free life and became a courtesan and an exotic dancer. She was way ahead of her time, as this sort of life seems scandalous, and that also brought her to the phase where she was convicted of being a German Spy. Mimin has imperatively captured her early childhood, to that innocent age where she was violated, to her choice of a man and getting married to him and later soon afterwards getting divorced. That was a huge turning point in Mata Hari’s life as she chose a life of becoming a mistress to myriad men. She was seductive in a way that would easily allure men to her bed, while the women were jealous of watching her doing what they could not- i.e., living a free and bold life.
No wonder, there have been a lot of retellings of Mata Hari’s magnanimous life; there are various books on her, there have been movies and various other adaptations, but this epic poem of sorts, attempted by an indigenous poet from the North East, will surely create history in the future days to come.
Written in the form of a Canto, it’s an extensive and glorified version of Mata Hari’s life and the bold choices she made in her lifetime of becoming a courtesan. She had had multiple affairs, performed semi-nude dances, with controversy being her other garment; she was sensual and charismatic in every inch of her existence. The poet has impressively explained the vast details of things that at times seemed irrelevant to me, but it had a certain flow that didn’t disturb the rhythm either.
Just to take you to the world of her sensual performances, let me quote the poet himself. These are the lines by the poet Mimin:
Now Mata Hari entered the spotlight
And her curves and turns began to pronounce:
“O look at me, I am Mata Hari,
Eye of dawn, wonder from the bright Orient;
I am enigma, I am mystery,
I am passion, lust and its seduction.
She proclaimed herself to be the devotee of Shiva and performed her obeisance in the form of her sensual dance, which she believed was surrendering oneself fully without an ounce of pride left over the body.
However, this fame was short-lived; later, her life became a series of unfortunate events. But the way Mimin has romanticised her various phases of life through his unique epic poem, which is but a modern re-telling, I surely would like to recommend you all to give this book a read. I am highly impressed by the range of his imagination and exploring it further from every angle possible.
Mimin Zomi is an emerging poet from Singngat, a village on the Indo-Myanmar border in the state of Manipur. He belongs to the Simte tribe, one of the Zo ethnic groups indigenous to North-East India. He is an autodidact in classical verse and wrote an epic poem on the life of Mata Hari.
His book can be procured from:
Review by Monalisa Joshi, Founder & Chief Editor @ Chrysanthemum Chronicles- A Contemporary Publishing House
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