परिदृश्य के भीतर / समीक्षा
ITERATURE
has often been influenced by the contem porary ongoings nearby. Hurnan
feelings cannot be confined to any bound ary. They can easily make a
dent anywhere, anytime.
Then,
who can stop a newsman from invading the world of poetry? And, who says
that there is no place for poetic expression in journalistic writing.
A
Patna based scribe, currently associated with a reputed news paper in
Hindi, Kumar Mukul, usually begins his news report or analysis with a
bailador a sonnet and often succeeds in getting a distinct coverage.
in real sense, he has become a 'news hunter to fulfill his family needs. At heart, he is only a poet.
The book under review IS collection of 55 poems, written by Mukul over a period of 10 years.
It
is an honest expression of feelings of a young man, who belongs to a
traditional feudal background, but "poses himself as an ultra-leftist
ideologue. Every piece appearing in the book has its own story
Now, it is for the conscious readers to judge the gravity of the messages conveyed to them.
A literary activist. Mukul has authored three books in the past and at least two more are ex pected soon
in
his latest releases last month, he has dealt with wide ranging subjects
and caused a serious concern to all those who care for the happenings
around.
inside the "rebel poet's" fram there are sketches of cosmopoli tan life of lower class family
massacres
in central Bihar, Soma lia, nature's bounty, love. ro mance,
philosophy, and so on, all exposing the hollowness' of our progressive
society.
In fact, to understand the meaning of these sketches, one has to step out of Mukul's frame.
Thought
provoking verses like Thitholi karati, smritiyon ke madhya kahan
rakkhun tumhari udasi ka, van dhardar heera (Page 27) or rat bhingna tha
ooas mein, jin chulhon ko, subah putana tha, mitti gobar-pani aur dhoop
mein, put gaya we apanon
hi ke khun se (Page-14). un doubtedly bring Mukul at par with any other contemporary poet.
Those
who are not well versed in Hindi may like to know that the first verse
aims at conveying that "in the treasure of my merry-making memory. where
should I place the precious dia mond of your gloom".
The
second verse describing the frequent massacres in Bihar says, "the
ovens destined to be drenched by dew drops all over the night, to be
washed by mud and cowdung next morning under
the sun, got cleaned by the
blood of their kitch and king".
Will
it then be wrong to think optimistically that given an op portunity to
flourish, Mukul may set a new milestone in Hindi poetry?
And, Muku has not attained this maturity overnight. He has laboured hard over the years.
In
1988. he has expressed concern at the attacks on the works of
literature by the likes of Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrin, by
religious fundamental ists. He said that "a chick unable to bear the
scorching
rays of sun, raised her head and spat at the sun to extinguish the heat."
In
1994, while running on the banks of Ganges in Varanasi, Mukul had
consumed a little "Ganga-jal" and felt that "the universe had started
expending in his intestines.
At times, the rebel poet has also exposed his own dual character.
Yes,
even today, a bahu (bride) is treated as an outsider in most of the
Indian middle class famil ies. Her good work too is seldom
being
appreciated by the in Describing the routine life of a lower middle
class family, residing in a dingy room of a metropolitan city, the poet
says only singing of bhajans was allowed in his family
So,
no one abjected to his wife's reciting the verses of the greatest poet
of Mithila Vidyapat But, as the in-laws did not understand the meaing of
the song, they felicitated their bhabhi with the title of bai nautch
girl. Still the reber remained indifferent
in the forewo acknowledge tions by his her as wife Baby
What type of co-oper does he expect of his wife he has failed to uphold her dignity in his own family?
Again, talking about an unkown girlfriend he says. Akela pate chhati par sawar hone lagati ho.
The
lines roughly translated mean that this anonymous be loved starts
mounting on his chest, whenever she finds him alone. Has Baby gone
through it? If yes, how did she react?
in yet another verse. Mukul feels that his wife sees her reflection in his blood
Of
course, on the back of the book the poet has said that he shall soon be
coming out with a small novel, which will ge an appropriate reply to
all such queries.
Finally,
Mukul has made ram pant use of Bhojpun words and other colloquial
terms. Most of these words are not available in any dictionary
He ought to ep in mind that Hindi readership is not confined only to the Bhojpun speaking belt.
