There was darkness everywhere.
And then the creator has commanded-let there be light!
And light it was-darkness was evaporated! From then on human species is afraid of darkness- and all through the life Homo sapiens makes relentless quest for light- from darkness…
Or rather the human conscience tells the soul to strive for the light!
Sometimes it remains unheard- sometimes it is heard-but the whisper is relentless-deep within the soul! It is the eternal journey that had prompted Orpheus to fight with death for the life of Eurydice- it is the eternal journey that had propelled Jesus Christ to be crucified for the human soul- it is the eternal journey that had empowered Mother Teresa to live a lie for the cause of others.
It is the greatness of eternal human soul that on the face of dying of thirst amid a desert, donates his last drop of water to his thirsty foe, saying-‘Thy need is greater than mine.’
This may be an anthology of poems-but it is also the manifestation of life- the beautiful journey of life-from all perspectives and from all angles.
It is a saga of that immortal soul.
The book is divided into eleven parts-deaths, grandmothers, spirits, love and marriage, children, America, sanctity, angels and monsters, aesthetics, immortality and hope.
to him, death is not an object of fear- rather death, when coming in his silent feet- will rest the tired soul into rest and make a transition from the life of grief, despair and pain. Only the creation will remain and will help him memorise-
“When I finished playing
I felt personally utterly free,
Devoid of any grief
Loss of mystery.
I now fully comprehend
The things he left behind.”
A new perspective- a new dimension has been imparted to every object around us- and narrated with utter simplicity. Abstract ideas are not there-it is realism all the way. Aesthetically all the poems are conveying true to life mirror of the world. but sometimes there is a faint hint of Romanism-like this poem where the poet memorises his friend- a friend who is no more-and a friend who should have lived some more moments on this beautiful world-absorbing the aroma of this wonderful creation
“You should have been here tonight.
You should have danced with Claire.
You should have noticed the deer
Silently listening beneath the oak.
You should have seen them there.”
And who is that you? It remains unanswered-it may be the time in which we all live, it may be the life, it may be the long friend of the poet or may be the poet himself. Here the reader swings between yes and no- like the pendulum of a clock-only this epoch has no definite path!
A certain section of the book is dedicated to the grandmother of the poem. But what is amazing is the use of plural here- it is grandmothers. Why the plural-when the section memorises some moments of solitude, some golden moments, some priceless moments with the grandmother. again we get no answer- only we have to imagine-may be the poet assumes every moments as a different grandmother- revealing a different trait of her character or….
She will return again and again- to this mortal world-to this earthy world of flesh and blood-to look after her darling grandson- her spirit may come again and again. The free spirit bound by the attraction of love. What a lovely feeling-is not it? when she tells
“After this body is burned
I will come to visit you
I will look in on you
To make sure you are ok,
To make sure you are fed,
To make sure you are appropriately
Cared for and loved.”
It is noteworthy that the poet has assumed a picture of Hindu rituals-burning of bodies and coming back as spirit-all ideas embedded in Hindu customs and penning down a beautiful picture of the return of the departed soul.
Poems are like discovering the moments of realization-when life takes us to a point of understanding. This book is a chronicle of transition of this eternal human soul- immortal- no pain, no grief, no despair-but a transition to the bigger truth of human soul- a soul that tells that life may be fragile-but the human will is indomitable.
Learn more of the book at
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