Reclusive Mountains and Soporific Dreams: Analyzing the Textual Representation of Space in Ananya S. Guha’s Hills Of Slow Time
Bonosree Majhi |
- Bonosree Majhi
Abstract:
Human experience is inevitably formed by the intrinsic relationship between
time and space. Human experience of space has engaged the brilliant minds from
various disciplines of academic exercise through the ages. While Foucault
treated it from a sociological-historical perspective, Kristeva was concerned
with the subjective space. For Deleuze space cantains the multiple flows of
becoming in a social context; Bakhtin’s famous theory of chronotope tries to
explain the close connection between the temporal and spatial relations
artistically represented in literature. Relatively new approaches, like Geocriticism
and Geopoetics, also deal with the influence of geography on the creative
spirit and transgressive re-creation of space in art. Ananya S. Guha is a
widely published Indian poet, translator, editor, and academician. A
distinctive voice from the North East of India, Guha possesses a unique poetic
sensibility shaped by the natural space he inhabits. Even though the poet
himself is a little apprehensive of the flagrant categorization of the creative
productions emerging from the North East region, his works are unmistakably
steeped in the luxuriant flavors and hues of the flora and fauna of the
mountains. The topology, meteorology and biosphere of the region not only serve
as a setting of his creative universe, they ultimately acquire a metaphoric
significance. The external physical space produced in his poems is not the only
site or locale worth analyzing. The complex mental functions, like dreams,
hallucinations, and stories constitute a psychological space whose study would
promise an intellectually stimulating experience. However, this is beyond
argument that these mental functions are not completely independent entities.
They are conditioned by and reactions to the experiences contained in a
particular space. The paper will attempt an analysis of the collection of poems
Hills of Slow Time by Ananya S. Guha
with the help of a spatially inclined approach to literary criticism.
Key-words:
space, natural, mental, home, metaphor.
Introduction: Aristotle
defined space and time as categories that are necessary for identification and
classification of the experience of senses. In this sense, space is merely an
empirical tool. Decartes’ conceptualization of space heralded the end of this
tradition of thought. With Decartes space transcends the three dimensional
mathematical existence and assumes the role of a mental phenomenon; space
became the absolute entity that contains all sensory stimulations and all
physical bodies at once. Even when Kant revived Aristotlean concept of space as
category and empirical tool, it still constituted an all-pervasive a priori realm of consciousness. In
later tradition of thoughts, a shift can be observed from the endeavors to
define space to comprehend the experience of space.
Ananya
S. Guha is a well known intellectual presence in the academia and literary
arena of India. His poetic creation originates from a sensibility formed and
shaped by the emotional and personal reaction to the physical space which
exists in a temporal point and contains all the activities and events the
creative mind witnesses. The physical space, when represented in poetry, no
longer remains the actual container of human experience constructed by the
relationship between temporal and spatial setting. The topology, meteorology
and biosphere of the particular region transcend the physical limitation and acquire
a metaphorical significance. A meticulous reading Ananya S. Guha’s Hills of Slow Time reveals a mutual
exchange between the physical and mental space that weaves the delicate
aesthetics.
Reclusive Mountains- Representation
of the topology and the concept of Home:
The
mountains in the Hills of Slow Time
are the things of the past, almost mythological entities. Their origin is in
the enigmatic myth, human history failing to record the time they came into
being. The topology seems to encompass the entirety of human capacity to
comprehend time. Three dimensional space along with three dimensions of time
(past, present and future) forms a continuum that can contain history of
humanity. This continuum can preserve the prehistoric truth, contain the present
activities and anticipate future. The eponymous poem ‘Hills Of Slow Time’ gives
beautiful expression to the concept.
The
hills I have known, paraded with
my
destiny, the hills that moulded clay
into
mythic dolls. Yes these were the hills I knew.
…
Prescient
hills you shoot out the future
and
supinely lie on the past
in
eternal rest. (Hills Of Slow Time 1)
The
movement of time is not perceived entirely from an objective perspective. It is
intensely subjective when it refers to the poet’s own life. These mountains, in
course of shooting out future from the ancient wombs of the past, mould the poetically
blessed individual’s impressionably rich past, creative present and enigmatic
future. Inextricably intertwined with the poetic consciousness, these mountains
make the home for the poetic spirit. In the poem ‘Those Seas…’ the poet
declares his free choice transcending the connection with the past:
They
are these bluish green hills where
I
built my abode. (Hills Of Slow Time
39)
The
poet appears assertive of his personal space. These are the hills where he
belongs and this is where he has chosen to make his home. If the general idea of abode or home is
analyzed, certain essential characteristics could be detected. One of these characteristics
would be the sense of entitlement or the sense of belongingness. This sense of
belongingness concomitantly originates from home’s ability to connect one with
his or her past. The mountains perform this exact task by securing a link
between the poet and his ancestors, and a link between his present self and
childhood. The poem ‘Childhood’ captures this nostalgia pervading a particular
area:
That
was a time when summer houses
were
painted. Fresh smells of the paint
the
grease and smattering dust
gave
aroma of hopes. Me and you
played
in outhouses and trumpeted
a
heralding wind. We sang songs
of
red cherries and green plums.
We
scorched the sun in winter’s
play
fields. We drank wine from
cascading
golden cups. We drowned
in
Hispanic winters. We were. (HOST 32)
Another
definitive characteristic of home would be its capacity to nurture and prepare
an individual for the future. The poet here is quite certain that these
mountains shape his destiny with the wisdom older than time itself. However,
the natural space is not the only space that encapsulates the concept of home. Moving
from natural space, we should consider home as the personal realm of an
individual as well; here we have to imagine a physical structure which safeguards
or gives shelter from danger, and it is necessarily demarcated from the natural
space by the wall. For a better understanding of the representation of space in
Guha’s poetry, one must understand the intriguing relationship between the
natural space and the space defined by architectural structures, both embodying
the concept of home. Heidegger, in his
essay, “Building Dwelling Thinking” describes the act of dwelling in the
following manner:
The Old Saxon
wuon, the Gothic wunian like the old word bauen, mean to remain,
to stay in a place. But the Gothic wunian says more distinctly how this
remaining is experienced. Wunian means: to be at peace, to be brought to
peace, to remain in peace. The word for peace, Friede, means the free, das
Frye, and fry means: preserved from harm and danger, preserved from
something, safeguarded. To free really means to spare. The sparing itself
consists not only in the fact that we do not harm the one whom we spare. Real
sparing is something positive and takes place when we leave something
beforehand in its own nature, when we return it specifically to its being, when
we "free" it in the real sense of the word into a preserve of peace.
To dwell, to be set at peace, means to remain at peace within the free sphere
that safeguards each thing in its nature. The fundamental character of
dwelling is this sparing and preserving. It pervades dwelling in its
whole range. That range reveals itself to us as soon as we reflect that human
being consists in dwelling and, indeed, dwelling in the sense of the stay of
mortals on the earth. (3)
One must not
forget that feeling at home and having a shelter is not the same. Home is
primarily a shelter from the external world, social and natural. Here home does
save from the hostile natural phenomena like harsh winter, keen lashes of rain,
from whose safe confines one can look out on the world outside through a window:
This
winter’s morning
is
just an event
saw
it across the window
no
frost, the sun on parole
this
winter’s morning
is
like a hesitant shadow.
Shall
I ?
The
cold is a blurred fantasy
after a night of nothing. (‘All
Three’, HOST 10)
Nevertheless,
no romantic illusion is propagated regarding home. Home does not solely stands
as a safe personal space where individual along with his keen thrives amidst
the warmth and security of his near ones. It is not left unscathed by the onslaughts
of hostile circumstances. In this home troubles brew, tragedy strikes,
adversity forces its way into.
There
are houses nearby
no
no dream houses
but
they have dreams
they
too weep, shout, eat
and
drink
…
And
those houses, thatched
lined
in a corner, wait
patiently
for the next meal.
The
children cry, want more
the
father walks out grumbling
the
mother consoles ( the children) (‘Suddenly’, HOST 4)
As
in the case of private area, natural areas too are unceremoniously stripped of
idle romantic trappings. Guha’s representation of the hills shatters the
delusion of picturesque landscape.
Rivers
are fantasy
for
tourists, phoptographers
and
the errant harbinger
of
news, floods and dithering
danger.
Rivers
are a dog in the manger. (‘Rivers’,
HOST 19)
Moreover,
the nostalgia wrapped around the hometown acquires a sinister image amidst the
acute awareness of time frozen in oblivion. The time may have moved here slowly
but it leaves its definite marks. The poet is ever anxious of the slow but
steady passage of ruinous time. In the poem ‘In
The Town That I Live In’ the painful acknowledgement of violence of
nostalgia makes itself palpable:
In
the town that I live
The
hills
The
town.
The
rippling streams
Of
effervescence.
…
In
the town that I live
I
lie buried, decapitated
by
the merciless wind
and
the rain admonishes
with
wind swept memories.
All,
in this town that I live. (HOST 42)
As
it has been already mentioned, home is supposed to nurture the individuals and
a community by extension. Unfortunately, the future envisioned by the poet is
somewhat bleak. The hills of slow time have certainly failed to sustain a
community and promise a future, for a recently grown predilection towards
desertion could be seen everywhere.
They
are deserting these villages
with
no cafes, no restaurants or a plush looking
waiter.
Where time’s realities are secretly stolen.
Where
gold fish cannot be found, no aquariums
only
the hiatus of misty hills, where blue is bluer
greengeener.
Where the thatched huts fall under sun’s
monotonous
glaze. They are not palaces. Houses.
Houses
quivering under fireflies of hope. They are deserting. (‘Wipe
The Tears’, HOST 35)
Meteorological elements
turned into Metaphors:
In
Hills Of Slow Time meteorological
elements transcend their ability to build the geographical background for the
benefit of the reader and get elevated to the status of metaphors loaded with
potent suggestions. Every element of weather or seasonal cycle becomes a source
of symbolic significance. Winters are essentially harsh, sinister. Its
agonizing experiences are simply dreaded, and an urge to remain hidden becomes
evident from the following lines of the poem ‘Dream Wings’:
We
will be left with decrepit masks
in
the agonies of winter. (HOST 3)
The winter is
certainly not a favourable condition for growth. The poet reiterates that for the
growth of new possibilities departure of the winter is necessary.
Possibilities must blow
across the land.
Winter must end, and
street cars will
get respite of the fog. (‘Possibilities’
HOST 27)
But this primordial element is thankfully infused with
the eternal hope.
Winter happens in
myths of time
and denuded
forests, when the hills
shiver in quaking
cold.
When streams
gurgle fearlessly.
Winter is
primordial. Ancients know
how it eclipses
summer’s moon
and drinks a
mouthful of wine till eternity.
It’s insignia is a
thumb sketched
ray of shadows in
hope. (‘Shadows In Hope’, HOST 31)
However, the hope’s eternal power becomes less
trustworthy when in ‘Let Them Grow’
(HOST 56) the winter’s hope is described in terms of being “unbecoming”.
Summer
is also an ancient existence. It is pleasant but short-lived and elusive and
readers are not permitted even for a moment to forget its transient nature. The
joys of summer are invariably juxtaposed with the agonies of winter.
Dream
wings are hard hit
by
summer’s malefic ways
and
winter’s dreaded hibernation. (‘Dream Wings’,
HOST 3)
Another
element rain is devastating in nature. It brings ruin and merciless reality to
the denizens. It reminds one of the hard truth of everyday reality and saves
from the unscrupulous romantic representation. The poem ‘Quiet Darkness…’ paints a fearful picture of such destruction.
Roof
tops are a slither
and
even as the rains transport
you
to ether you feel that
they
shouldn’t have arrived.
No
not now.
The
hills lie comatose
in
disappointment.
The
showers will soon turn
to
an octopus sea. Elsewhere
one
hears of terrible flood gates.
Disaster,
death, houses crumbling
into
river fangs. (HOST 21)
It
is also credited with being the mystic who materializes with the undiluted truth.
It has the power to reveal the truth hidden in the darkest depths of time.
And
the morning
is
wayward, clouds
thicken
and the rains
appear
mist like
to
unravel hidden thoughts.
…
I
go to these rains to uncover
masks
in memories.
The
clouds are murky, yet
rains
do appear in half translucence.
Slithering
away to undiluted truths. (‘And The Morning’, HOST 23)
Flora and fauna as
symbols- Representation of Biosphere
Far
from being an innocent part of an Idyllic scene, flowers in Guha’s poetry are
attributed with multilayered implications. The flower images used are often
cryptic. They are resonant with complicated symbolism. Thus, marigold becomes
reminiscent of gashing wounds.
Marigolds
will not turn your hair
into
wounded gashed fingers. (‘Hills Of Slow
Time’, HOST 1)
The
marigolds are there to signify dreams, songs denoting past and looking forward
to future. When sunflower is mentioned, it is only to inform us of its death.
Interestingly, the flowers are often described in terms of being withered or
awaiting to be withered or already dead.
Another
flower that secures the attention of the poet is lotus. It stands for the pure,
unadulterated truth: “Lotus whispers of truths. Many untold.” (17). Moreover,
there is an unforgettable image of the mysterious flower which is the custodian
of some arcane truth, and the possession of which could enable the poet to call
the mountains to him, and give him the taste of eternity.
I
never had to because
I
never had that flower
that
clasped like shower
gives
you that you had a taste
of
eternity, penumbra. (‘I Never Had To’,
HOST 79)
The
bird crow is used as a significant image in Hills
Of Slow Time. Apart from being the traditional ominous presence, it gnaws
and nibbles at the surface of the apparent reality and makes the hurt
resurface:
The
crow continues to nibble.
Suddenly
there is blood. (‘Suddenly…’ HOST 4)
On
other times, “it seems the epitome/ of life that is lost” (‘Decision’ HOST 7)
The social spaces
representing the life of a community:
Even though the natural space and the private space
are separated to understand the idea of personal and impersonal space, it is
redundant to point out that none of the spaces exist in isolation. Each space
encroaches upon the other’s territory, influences and imbues itself with the
properties of the other. Now the focus would shift to the social spaces. Henri
Lefebvre, in his book Production of Space,
opines that:
Be that as it
may, the places of social space are very different from
those of
natural space in that they are not simply juxtaposed: they may
be
intercalated, combined, superimposed - they may even sometimes
collide. (96)
It
is evident that Lefebvre is of the opinion that natural spaces could be simply
juxtaposed, which is rather hasty attempt at oversimplification. However, when
it comes to social spaces, he is willing to acknowledge the interpenetration
among these innumerable social spaces. They are fluid and there are countless
crossways among them. In Hills of Slow Time social spaces like school, hospital
registers the collective experiences of a community. The shared trauma of a
community finds expression in these eloquent spaces.
…Traumatized
teachers
writing
on black boards, wearing white.
The
penurious were right. The naughty, crafty.
Examinations
were a long wait in an endless tunnel. (‘Childhood’
HOST 32)
Road
is another symbolically charged space which is used by Guha to trace the
eternal cycle of history; the ravages of time and progress of human
civilization amidst irrational violence. The sad melody of humanity is played
out here.
roads
are
mere
slaves, they are used
as
battle fields to splash colours
like
the Holi Festival.
…
He
said yes it is true but roads
have
a comeback fervour.
Come
back to me when age
overtakes
and maurauders
come
with weapons, technology
and
a mad house of grass growing
in
Wilderness. (‘In Wilderness’, HOST 20)
Mental spaces-Soporific
dreams, hallucination, myth, history, grandmother’s stories hiding and
revealing truth:
The
textual representation of space in the poems of this anthology is not merely
constricted to the physical spaces. These poems are equally adequate in
representing the enigmatic world of human consciousness. Guha uses different
mental functions such as dreams, hallucinations and composition of stories to
unravel the mysterious landscape of our psyche. The dreams of the poet are
soporific. They lie instead of revealing the truth. They are comforting in that
they lull human faculty of reason and take them further away from the hurtful
reality. The poet veritably declares that dream wings are soporific. He
oscillates between an irresistible urge to escape reality and an insistent pull
towards the ever elusive truth.
I
reason outside, inside
in
dreams, poems, reveries
hallucinations,
which mind
in
its fervour stumbles upon
thick
fences and overnight
reason
is left distraught
in
crumbling ruins of the present. (‘Dreams’, HOST 12)
Another
curious function of human brains is constructing memories. The memories are not
presented in a very positive light here. They are predominantly painful and
therefore undesirable. Furthermore, they are unreliable. They could very well
be screen memories carefully built and put in mind to hide some violent past.
The stories which are products of complex working and reworking materials
collected from the surroundings are similarly unreliable and vaguely
comforting. In the poem ‘Grandmother And
Her Two Sons’ this fabulous but ultimately inadequate process of myth-making
is exposed:
Once
upon a time I sat on grandmother’s lap
to
listen to stories of ghosts, catcalls and her two sons
climbing
up the wind, soaring skies after dying of poisonous
fumes
of the stomach.
Fabulous,
untold stories, of her two sons, flying across
when
space crafts did not exist. Now I know. (HOST 11)
Conclusion: The
creative sensibility shaped by the physical, social and mental spaces creates a
brilliant literary space that conveys a unique poetic experience. Ananya S.
Guha reproduces physical and mental space in his poem with a symbolic
technique. A certain degree of ambivalence that weaves the symbolic structure
provides a balanced approach to human experience in general; the human
experience where relentless pursuit of truth and temptation of self delusion
coexists; where the grievously devastating circumstances is endowed with the
power to reveal supreme truth. The textual representation of space gives an
opportunity to witness the complex relationship between the human perception
and the physical world exterior to the self.
References:
1. Guha, Ananya S. Hills Of Slow Time. Bhubaneswar: Dhauli Books, 2017. Print.2. Heidegger, Martin. “Building Dwelling Thinking” faculty.arch.utah.edu/miller/4270heidegger.pdf Jan 6, 2007. Web 20 March, 2018. URL: http://acnet.pratt.edu/~arch543p/readings/Heidegger.html
3. Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Trans. Donald Nicholson-Smith.Cambridge: Basil Blackwell, Inc. 1991. Print.
Setu, April 2018
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