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| Sangeeta Sharma |
- Sangeeta Sharma
It was a beautiful sun-drenched day of March 2009 when
I was flying back home in the cozy company of my beau-hubby from the pink city, Jaipur, after completing a
month-long orientation course, staying alone with him far from the grind of the
household, in the University of Jaipur, when for the first time, while the
plane was wafting within the fluffy clouds, I was so overwhelmed by their dazzling
and mesmerising beauty that I decided not to let the idea fade without penning
it down on paper.
After returning home, as it is always, I got busy with
my daily professional and domestic schedule and could not find time. However,
whenever in my mental eye I tried to recapture the moment…there it was in its
full majesty!
The beauty was heavenly and had nevertheless left me
gasping for more!!
The day I jotted down my emotions of that particular
experience, my first poem was born:
Epiphany
Suspended
between
air and the earth
I floated like a
skylark
and
felt like the
venerable Wordsworth
I was exhilarated
macro had become
micro
Encompassed by a
huge illuminating circle
I was gliding over
the fluffy clouds
In an incredible state
of mind
with feathery and
smoky hillocks of clouds beneath and above
I wondered whether I
was still a mortal
I had
always known that
it is only the soul
that traverses the skies and the immortals
This was like
Wordsworthian epiphany.
Life had never
seemed so beautiful and surreal
A sanction from
God, perhaps, who
gifted me wings to
float and soar
through the
enchanting heights!
It was a feeling of elation and jubilation, to be very
honest. Till then I had never thought that I would be ever able to compose a
poem. And there it was.
Since then there was no looking back. I was not
prolific and fully adhered to the Wordsworthian philosophy of “Poetry is a
spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion
recollected in tranquility.”
Wordsworth, the great Lake poet, created poetry from
the realm of the subjective and I became his disciple, of course, a very humble
one.
My compositions, written mostly in free verse, revolve
round strong experiences of life in
general and men, nature, emotions, gender
inequality and Indian realities of the
21st century, in particular.
The subject matter in
the poems varies from highly personal, deeply penetrating concerns to those
that lament the prejudice and harsh realities of daily life in various sections
of Indian society. Sample one:
The
Healer
This healer
does not recommend
remedy,
Cures itself.
The longing ends
With the presence
A divine feeling!
Relieves
Pain and
restiveness.
The revocable
presence of the signified does
what multiple
signifiers cannot.
Composes and
restores
the flailing self.
Submitting is
uplifting
and
Affliction,
soothing
A few moments
Alas!
The Lacanian lack
persists…
Teaching undergrads
Modern English and American Poetry, Metaphysical and Shakespearean poetry and
particularly, teaching them how to appreciate poetry unlocked more insights and
incited interest in trying my hands on this genre which has, of late, become the
most innocuous literary expression.
In addition to all
this, my official visits to the US and China and Europe enlarged my world-view
and provided a cyclorama of ideas.
The poems, with passage of time, got published in various national and international anthologies and journals. Joining online poetry groups and posting my favourite compositions on them, too, proved helpful. Louis Kasatkin, founder of the prestigious Destiny Poets Online Group was kind enough to honour me with the Poet of the Month title. Regular encouraging and insightful responses from Louis Kasatkin and other members on different online groups encouraged me all the more to write. I will remain indebted to all those who cared to send their valuable feedback on my poetry. Gradually, I reached a stage when I had more than 100 poems.
On coming across the collection of Hector Hugh Munro’s (Saki) Collection of 76 Short Stories, I decided to get even my collection of 76 poems published.
Along: The Way (3rd book authored by me), a collection of 76 poems, thus got afloat in October 2017 by the highly-esteemed AuthorsPress, New Delhi. Sudarshan Kcherry, the publisher of high repute, deserves a grateful thanks for supporting and publishing writers. Along: The Way is available on the links given below:
Literature has always been considered as a record of the times and an imaginative reconstruction of social reality. So is poetry. It clarifies and crystallizes our thoughts and as James Joyce defines ‘epiphany’, it helps preserves the most delicate and evanescent moments.
I
firmly believe that poetry enables us to capture everyday experiences, variegated emotions, fluid,
critical, awesome, and enlightened moments and safeguards the crucial life
occurrences from slipping away into nothingness.
Thank you Setu for letting us, the readers, know of the epiphanic start to the poetic journey of Sangeeta Sharma, of her global exposure, of her poetic insights, and of her conclusion that poetry is capable of capturing everyday experiences, emotions and moments. Enjoyed every bit of the narration.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, dear Atreya Sarma, for your valuable comments.
DeleteI am honoured by your kind words.
Thank you so much, dear Atreya Sarma, for your valuable comments.
DeleteI am honoured by your kind words.