FB errupts over a Poet and a poem

It’s been like a volcanic eruption with outburst directed at full throttle. I was not able to get head or tail what was going wrong until I went through a post by my FB friend Zakir. I came to know that the outpour was caused by a mere post on poetry by Sri Nilim Kumar, the noted or controversial Assamese Poet.

In a way, I felt happy that we have still some serious and enthusiastic followers of Assamese Poetry .  We were in Engineering College (92-96)  when Sri Kumar first started writing poems with unfamiliar themes. I remember Sadin (Weekly Magazine) publishing my article on contemporary Assamese Poetry where I wrote for gracious use of symbolism in modern poetry. While I was suave on Sri Kumar, Ismail Hossein’s article was head on and hard hitting.

If my memory doesn't fail me, Bireswar Barua, in an article in an issue of Asam Bani in 1996, compared Nilim Kumar to the American Beat generation. Those who are not familiar with the Beat generation of American Poetry, It was a group of Poets who became extremely popular post World War-II. The generation rode of publicity rage with their work on obscure sexism and bisexual themes.  

I still can’t accept few of the Nilim Kumar’s Poems as decent and digestible. Certainly some Gupta's inner garments has nothing to do to create unprecedented trouble  if it doesn't get dry. (One of the controversial poems of Nilim Kumar). But when he says expressing oneself is not poetry, I am not  totally averse to what he says. Rather, I would like to reshape his words to fit to my belief as- expressing oneself in the form of poetry may not always translate to good poetry.

Of late, we have a large pool of poets and their works hardly measure up to the expectation of the serious readers. To  a reader, bad Poetry is much worse than a bad novel  or a short story.

To me, there is a thin line that distinguishes good poetry from the bad one. First and foremost, it must be simple and vibrate the inner chord of the reader. Simplicity here doesn’t mean staleness. But reading and understanding poetry require some intellect to crack the outer hard shell which the poet creates purposefully to elevate the joy of the reader while relishing on the softer core.

The important matter is expressing oneself gives the divine high to the author and helps relive the relentless creative pain.  So why to worry what Mr. Nilim Kumar thinks about your poem. Let the words flow unhindered.

Coming back to Beat Generation, Sri Nilim Kumar should remember that some people like me still spontaneously quote  few lines from T S Elliot , the harbinger of modernism into English Poetry,  inspite of being unconventional at his time while   Allen Ginsberg,  from the Beat generation, rests peacefully in Google search.

You can contact Kamaljit at kamaljitmedhi1975@gmail.com

Sleepless Night

Once more, a bout of acidity robbed my sleep off till morning. The only awful part of such long night is the call of office in the next morning with the siren about to be wailing at 7: 15 sharp.

My two sons were sleeping peacefully by my side. I kissed their soft cheeks and felt the warmth. The younger one slept with the toy car I had brought for him in the afternoon. The elder must have been dreaming on the book he went through in his kindle, a gift I gave him in his last B’day.

Suddenly, some part of my heart ached and shuddered wishing not to see a day when these two will not see eye to eye, forget about sharing a bed. Have seen many brothers turning bitter foes.

At 41, I can feel the feel of fleeting youth with tinges of white growing all the time in the hair, when the days of playing cricket all day in the scorching sun seems like a dream and of course when I am called a dear uncle so many times.

When I hum few lines of Borgeet in the morning, my wife says I am growing old. But its true, sometimes I feel  many dreams I am chasing everyday, have no real purpose in life.

Death is a truth and no one can defy it. Every pound of our heart  and we are closer to the grave.  Billions of people, higher and mightier had to bite the dust. “Grass covered them all”.

The more I read of Alexander, Napoleon or Adolph Hitler, I feel the helplessness to see them falter at the twist of destiny.

Perhaps I am an escapist! I am too weak to look around and see the reality.

I wished - let this moment, the feel be eternal and time stop for ever ! This life and the world around and our children  are so beautiful, I will not be tired of living a million years too.

Let the morning herald and sunshine drench my mind and body. Let the weakling thoughts go off.

You can contact Kamaljit at kamaljitmedhi1975@gmail.com

Sow the seed of love and peace

The Dhaka incident has shocked the entire world. Its sad but not surprising.

Going to a reputed school doesn't make  a person secular. Seeds of secularism is sowed in an individual  at home by the  parents and the surrounding . Acceptance of diversity doesn't come on its own when  people grow up from childhood on religious overdose and hatred for others.

My faith and my belief , when I look back, has the roots on what I was taught at home. I  rarely observe the rituals and like father, do it sometimes not out of belief but as a couteous gesture. Does that make me a bad element for our society ? Acceptance on what I am is a sign of a matured society. Yes, with my parents, I learned to share sorrow with people irrespective of religion and caste. I didn't enjoy the firecrackers at my place as well the day Indira Gandhi was shot fatally ! I mourned with my family in silence.

People say no religion teaches you hatred. It is entirely wrong. The core of every religion is "follow me or else you go to hell". Religion never accepts pluralism. It teaches its superiority over others. Simply it can't be democratic and thats why too much of religion in every sphere  of our life is what causes fanaticism.

 

Mao Tse Tung said - religion is the poison for the masses. Yes, if not poison, it is certainly the opium for the masses. Opium may have medicinal values when taken in small doses for selective use; but  Overindulgence leads to intoxication and debars people becoming rational.   

That's the reason  You need to be selective with what you pick from your religion.  It happened in Bangladesh and may happen anywhere.

Terrorism is a Frankenstein. We lost two of our Prime Ministers to this dreaded virus. It  destroys  the very hands which nourished it once. It destroys its own people. Examples are all around.

People have circulated the story of a 20 year old brave heart who refused to leave his friends during the Dhaka mayhem. The minute detail of his encounter with the perpetrators of violence is surely imaginary. But the very fact that people are circulating it, shows, people desire number of such noble souls to grow. There lies the hope.

The irony is such incidents break trust and faith. There are many Bangladeshi people who are saddened as much as we are. Read many of their posts expressing shock, disbelief and sometimes helplessness.

The crux of my post is sow the seed of love and peace in your child. Teach him that only diversity and coexistence have made this planet beautiful and you are the chosen one to hold this spirit and pass to the future.

You can contact Kamaljit at kamaljitmedhi1975@gmail.com