Rajani: Songs of the Night

Rajani: Songs of the Night (1916) is a poetry collection by Dhan Gopal Mukerji. Published while Mukerji was a young student in California, Rajani: Songs of the Night is the debut collection of poems from the first Indian writer to gain a popular audience in the United States. Lyrical and romantic, Mukerji’s poems capture his commitment to beauty while maintaining his sense of isolation and exile as a young man living far from home. In Bhikshu’s Song, the collection’s opening poem, the poet greets a Buddhist monk at the door, returning in memory to his native Bengal. Repeating the Bhikshu’s mantra throughout- Om Moni Padme Om! -Mukerji allows himself to drift with the stream / To [his] destination of dream. An exile, Mukerji can only reach his homeland through memory and song, by infusing English meter with the sights and sounds of Bengal. A singer that sings of sorrow; / Whose night knows no tomorrow; / [His] song finds its source / In its moonless immensity. Although he never returned to his native country, Mukerji left an inspiring legacy through his literary achievement and unwavering commitment to Indian independence. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Dhan Gopal Mukerji’s Rajani: Songs of the Night is a classic of Indian American literature reimagined for modern readers.