‘Be brave and strong’: Mamata’s message through poetry after defeat

A week after her party’s defeat and a day after the newly formed government’s first cabinet meeting, former chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee sent a message to her followers through a poem on 12 May titled “Brave”.

Coming after the Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) electoral defeat in the Assembly election, the poem appeared aimed at party workers who may be frustrated or disillusioned. “Be brave and strong” is the sense that comes through from the very beginning.

“Always face brutes with a smile” was among the lines that drew the most attention online, with supporters and critics alike trying to interpret who the “brutes” might refer to in West Bengal’s current ruling political party.

The poem repeatedly returns to themes of loneliness and resilience, themes that now feel especially significant after Mamata’s political setback. “When you were born, you came alone, and when you will die you have to be alone,” she wrote, before ending on a hopeful note: “Ultimately, you will be the gainer, have that faith.”

A senior TMC leader said, “After reading the poem it feels almost like Banerjee speaking to herself after losing power for the first time in over a decade. After dominating Bengal politics since 2011, the recent election result marked one of the toughest moments of her political career.”

A close aide of Mamata said, “At a moment when Bengal is witnessing a major political change, the poem ‘Brave’ feels less like a politician trying to write literature and more like a leader trying to process loss in public. 

“Whether readers see it as poetry, political messaging or emotional outbreak, ‘Brave’ has once again shown that Mamata Banerjee remains one of the few Indian politicians who responds to political crises not just with speeches, but with handwritten verses.”

Poetry has long been one of Mamata’s preferred ways of responding to political turbulence. Over the years, she has written 162 books, 27 poems and songs, and has also displayed her paintings publicly. 

Her writings have covered subjects ranging from her struggles as an Opposition leader to movements such as Singur and Nandigram, which eventually helped bring down the Left Front government.

During the Singur and Nandigram movement, and even during the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, Mamata repeatedly expressed her thoughts through poetry on social media.

Mamata said she wrote 26 poems protesting the SIR, an exercise the TMC repeatedly criticised for allegedly targeting voters. According to her, those poems were written over two days while travelling by helicopter between political programmes.