Speaking of Siva is a collection of free-verse lyrics written by four major saints of the great bhakti protest movement which originated in the tenth centre A.D. Composed in Kannada, a Dravidian language of south India, the poems are lyrical expressions of love for the god Siva, they mirror the urge to by-pass tradition and ritual, to concentrate on the subject rather than the object of worship, and to express kinship with all living things in moving terms.