Anguish and a sense of rootlessness have resulted in these memorable verses. Words delve deep into our consciousness and evocative lines stir our psyche, writes MANDIRA GHOSH
Dr HK Kaul’s life is interwoven with the boundaries of literature and libraries, and in these selective environment, he has authored and edited 60 books that include 15 volumes of poetry, such as, On the Waves, In Deep Seas, Firdaus in Flames, In the Islands of Grace, Poetry of the Raj, New Journey, Poetry India, among others including the present volume of 138 poems written between 2006 to 2016.
Encounters with People and the Angels of Hopecovers new poems written by Kaul — a poet, author, and the Founder Director, DElNET (Developing library Network) and Founder Secretary-General and now President, The Poetry Society (India). The poems are divided in eight sections: Society and culture; struggles for survival; Kashmiri Pandits; crime and violence; religion and spirituality; environment; the professionals and craftsmen; and decaying and death.
Kaul’s poems surprises us with their diverse themes, and his command over language and expressions, for sensitivity of a man whose multifarious activities are well known. His contributions to the world of poetry is well known. He has worked mainly for English poetry, when he established The Poetry Society(India) in 1984, a time known for political uncertainly in the country.
Comprehending and reading Kaul’s verses are not an easy job. His lines and words speak from consciousness, his words merge with complicated themes. This is not ordinary poetry, of just love, lust, hate, separation or union. The verses spark from depth of a mind, mind of a multidimensional personality who earlier had written on Yoga and Shri Aurobindo. This is the mind of a man, that Shri Aurobindo may have had perceived and that reflects in his verses. He speaks and writes like a mystic specially in the sections of spirituality.
Poems of pain and melancholy, a sense of rootlessness, anguish for lost home are included in the section on Kashmiri Pandits. The poet turns autobiographical as he pens: As I stroll towards downtown/Through streets, lanes, streams of consciousness/To watch the roots of some old structures/I find streets have turned into lanes/lanes into dark narrow spaces/Within fractured blocks, blocked streams/In the diminishing spaces/Shadows of fading consciousness... Poems of pain and anguish are reflected when he writes: Gods in the Valley are alone now. No watchmen around/No worshippers either... He also turns autobiographical for the poem My life Changed.
To accept failure is challenging, but the poet braces his defeat and pens the challenging lines: This winter, he couldn’t sell a dream/The harsh reality of crashing to defeat/Made him contend with the abuse/Welcomed to get snapped, lured and threatened/Into the unusual labour market… Pain, anguish, a sense of rootlessness, lost home, resulted in these a memorable verses. Words delve deep into our consciousness. Evocative lines stir our psyche. His sweetest verses are those that tell of saddest thoughts. The poet has celebrated his life as a sublime hymn and the verses demonstrate this.
This anthology gives a gruesome picture of the present era. Human history is filled with blood stains and funerals but the poet sometimes draws some pictures of hope as well. As he writes: Some babies on their mothers’ backs seeing slight passages of hope/little by little grew and ran/With ambition, hitting the ground…
Protests are now frequent in the city. They have become a recipe for destruction. Kaul thus writes an appropriate poet titled Protest in this volume. The poems depict the present culture, situation of the world diverging into different directions. Values are changing and so is the man. The poet reflects that in his poems. The lives of sculptors, puppet maker, miners, boat men of Kashmir, in the section ‘The professionals and craftsmen’ are penned in sensitively. Kaul stresses on imagery a lot and some lines give the photographic impressions. In his playful mood, he also pens the poem, Your Shadow. The distinct use of poetic devices, such as metaphors, alliterations, imagery, oxymoron, and images are amazing. The following expressions speak volumes about his poetic diction — like petty tyrannies were live wires(metaphors); darkened vision(Oxymoron); Maker of mountain shadow (alliterations); Speeding rivers(metaphor and imagery); formless state (oxymoron, metaphor) etc.
Kaul draws his images from the nooks and corners of the society. His poems identify the winds of change and the undercurrents that are eroding the foundations or organised societies. His poems are infused with passion to uncover the unruly. He is concerned about the voices that are silent and about the terror phenomenon that turn nights into playgrounds and days into knee jerk traps. Indeed, his verses are complex amalgam of thought and theme, images and imagery, talent and convictions, and are sensitive and humane.
The reviewer is the author of 10 books, including Folk Music of the Himalayas and Song in a City. She can be reached at mandiraghosh55@gmail.com