“Poetry
is more akin to music than painting”, says Amit Shankar Saha: Author of
'Balconies of Time'
Balconies
of Time’, the debut poetry collection of Amit Shankar Saha had reached my home
in Texas, USA after quite a series of erroneous attempts of shipping the book
long-distance. However, once I reached me, I looked at its simple, yet
evocative cover portraying the intimate essence of a house, an emotional string
that I had left in the unnamed alleys of my maiden home in Kolkata, India, and
thereafter started my journey of reading the book cover-to-cover, reading each
poem in the collection as a unique room, window, balcony, door of that
ubiquitous house, which I might have never escaped from ever.
Being
a friend and fellow poet of Rhythm Divine Poets, where Amit, the author is the
co-founder, the instinctive and instant connection that we made with each other
was through the device of poetry and words. Hence, quite naturally, when I
finished reading his book, there were questions about its intrinsic theme, its
complex yet endearing emotional nuances that were bubbling in my mind, and thus
the seed of this author interview was sown, and eventually brought to fruition
with a deft and critical analysis by the author himself, dissecting his work,
triggered by my questions.
Lopa Banerjee: First of all, many congratulations, Amit, on
the publication of ‘Balconies of Time’. The lines of the title poem in the
collection echo in my mind with a lingering impact after I finished reading. “There’s
a hollow in the forest/Which the night cannot fill/ And the sleepy blue
ocean/Walks sleepy blue still. There’s a hollow in the strangers, Hollow in
their glances/Lurking in the faded corners/With folded hemline of chances.”
There is a lot of sensitivity in the lines, the depiction of emotive imagery,
as aptly described in the foreword to the book by Dr. Sanjukta Dasgupta, poet,
academician and literary scholar. Would you say your poetry emerged from
reading the classic romantic poets or the modern poets Walt Whitman, W.B. Yeats
et al?
Amit Shankar Saha: Thank you. The aim of the collection was
to have a persistence of impact on the minds of the readers and I am happy that
is what is happening. My poetry emerged from reading the classic romantic poets
but I have been writing serious poetry for about twenty years now so it has
developed with further readings of the modern poets though not exactly Whitman
but Yeats, Eliot and others definitely. At different stages of my poetic career
I have written different types of poetry under different influences. However,
what comes out eventually is both an amalgamation of influences as well as originality.
It is my individual voice now.
Lopa: Many of the poems
in your debut collection 'Balconies of Time' have the essence of nostalgia of
belonging, in relation to the feelings of home, places you have visited
physically or metaphorically, objects that are both part of your inner
microcosm and well as the greater visual, visceral reality. Would you agree to
this observation, and if yes, how would you explain it in relation to your body
and mind?
Amit: At a literary festival I once heard Anita Desai say
that nostalgia is not good for a writer as it comes easy and makes the writer
complacent. But you will not find the typical usage of nostalgia in my poems
because the sense undergoes a metaphorical metamorphosis and thereby reflects
what you aptly termed as my inner microcosm. People who know me superficially
find it difficult to imagine that I am the same person who writes these poems.
Sometimes I too search for that person who writes my poems.
Lopa: Before this collection happened, some of these poems
you have mentioned, have been published in literary journals and e-zines. Tell
us a few words about the birth of this compilation and what particularly
inspired you to name the book 'Balconies of Time'. Has it been a deeply
philosophical choice, or is it a name that tries to decode the intrinsic
emotional meanings of the m├йlange of poems?
Amit: The compilation
has poems selected from those mainly composed between 2015 and 2017. The poems
were written during a very inspired phase of my life where there was a great
upheaval of feelings. The title poem itself was inspired, as I have stated in
the acknowledgement, by the words of my fellow poet Ananya Chatterjee. I had
stated earlier somewhere that these poems chart an evolution of
time from one state of situ to another. They bring in moods where the
experiences of the poet become poetry. These emotional experiences are added
with my travel experiences between Kolkata and Bolpur. Bolpur gave me new
rustic metaphors whereas Kolkata always stood for urbanity from where I
connected with the world, world where my friends travelled to. The private and
personal mix with the public and social and become an aesthetic whole in my
poems.
Lopa: As a scholar of English literature, many of your poems
in this collection and also your other published poems have deeply nuanced
language and imagery embedded in their core. For example, in the poem
‘Silverfish’, you write a poetic fable: “As I lie on my bed/And the night eats
me up/A silverfish comes to my rescue…A long lost thought that lies/folded in
the cupboard/Seeks a sudden breath of fresh air”. Again, in the poem ‘Gyre’,
you write these lines which depict your passion for the beauty of the abstract:
“Today I sit to write/the last poem of the year. Words queue to climb/the
anthill of poetry. They mate with each other/to give birth to meaning.” Would
you say poetry as a medium of art/expression derives its essential strength
from the subtle rubrics of strong, distinctive imageries?
Amit: I believe poetry has to do simultaneously with imagery
and sound. Even when a poem is read in the mind and not aloud, the sound of the
words that depict the images has to leave a persistence of memory. Poetry is
more akin to music than painting. When you see a painting you usually see the
whole of it at a time, whereas you listen to only a part of the music at a
time. Similarly, you read a poem only in parts – words, one line at a time
perhaps. Often I forget the first lines of poems of some length with abstract
imagery while reading because they don’t have persistence of memory of the
lines in my mind because the sound of the words is not lingering. I try that
does not happen with my poems. Poetry is definitely strengthened by distinctive
imageries but those imageries have to be sustained in the minds of the readers
through appropriate sounding words.
Lopa: It
would be very interesting to know what inspired your introductory poem of
the book 'Awadh' where you pay a tribute to Mirza Ghalib, the Urdu-Persian
bard. Did the lyricism of Urdu Shayari and the Ghazal form entice you as a
poet? We poets often say that poetry writing is a cathartic experience for us
on the emotional plane. Do you think the catharsis is stronger in the Urdu
Shayari genre of poetry, or does the complex emotional nuances of English
poetry let us explore catharsis more strongly?
Amit: When I
was compiling the collection, I had first thought of putting the title poem at
the beginning, but then I put it in the middle and decided to start the
collection with ‘Awadh’ since it goes back in history and time. It harks back
to a different era of poetry and defines an age that is no longer there – an
age of the bards of Urdu poetry that was overrun by the Empire. Moreover, the
poem is one of the first poems that I recited at a poetry meet organized by
Rhythm Divine Poets. So, it justifies itself as a precursor in more sense than
one. I am definitely enticed by Urdu Shayari and Ghazal. My poems have both the
influences of Indian as well as Western tradition of composing poems. As for
being cathartic, poetry is cathartic irrespective of the traditions. It depends
on the poet. We are privileged to have access and understanding of both the
traditions and that enrich our poetry greatly.
Lopa: I sense
after reading your poems on certain places and landmarks of Kolkata, including Some
Place Else, Park Street, Gariahat, Southern Avenue that Kolkata, the city
becomes a metaphor for remembrances and an intrinsic sense of emptiness, like a
drink in which you, the poet drowns, to “swim with loss.” In the poem
‘Gariahat’, emblematic of the bustling street of Kolkata, you write: “That day
we flew over the island of Gariahat./ The flyover licked us/and we were lifted
up in incredible lightness/of being in love.” In these lines, we find the urban
semantics, the post-modern imagery that embraces the physical landscape of the
city and your metaphorical realities in very minimalist, yet strong poetic
expressions. What would you say about this observation about Kolkata as your
muse?
Amit: Kolkata has been a witness to my happy times and
sad times, so naturally it finds a place in my poems. The city gave me urban
metaphors – so many places are associated with remembrances. Every moment that
has gone past leaves a certain sense of emptiness. I can revisit the same place
but not the same moment and hence the sense of loss which is good for a poet,
for it leads to the quintessential postmodernist philosophy of presentism. But
I link it with Keatsian struggle between transience and permanence. A poet is a
person who is caught between paradoxes, stranded amidst dilemmas, momentarily
immobilized by predicaments. Kolkata as a muse has given me the semantics to
explore such emotions.
Lopa: The sensuality of erotic poetry also finds ample
voice in your poem ‘Discovering Guilt’. “Your body I peel like an orange/And
your eyes an inflorescence split in two,/ Your breasts I suckle like a hot
day/And your breath I take in kisses askew..” What is your take on the element
of eroticism in English poetry and how do you think has it evolved over the
years?
Amit: Usually I struggle to write erotic poetry but
friends and fellow poets help me to achieve some measure of success when I
attempt it. It is very important for a poet to get constructive feedback
especially from those who have been successful in that genre and I have been
fortunate in that regard. As for eroticism in English poetry, I have been
influenced by the sensuousness of Coleridge’s ‘Christabel’, Keats’s ‘The Eve of
St. Agnes’. Eroticism in English poetry has definitely evolved from the bawdy
verses of Earl of Rochester to the stark realities of modern times. But there
are other languages too where erotic verses have flowered considerably.
Lopa: Let me ask you about my most favorite poem in
the collection, ‘Double Helix’. You write: “I have my mother’s genes, /I am not
a poet/And this is not a poem. /At the crossroad this will not pay for my
coffee./It is still the seventies/And we are still unborn.” The lines
juxtaposed against each other in the poem depicting a ruthless narrative of the
seventies which merges with our own postmodern realities. Was this particular
poem born out of angst or the tyranny of nostalgia?
Amit: This poem is a perfect example of multiple
layering of meanings in a poem. I composed it after a fellow poet posted her
mother’s poem in Facebook. I delve into the circumstances of my mother who
never got an opportunity to write a verse, being too surrounded by household
duties as a housewife. So this is a feminist poem. But it is not only that. It
is also about me when I contradict myself by stating that my poem is not a
poem. It is just a statement of hard realities of life. So it is a deeply
personal poem. But the poet that I am, is also a product of his times being
born in the late seventies at the end of a turbulent decade when my peers too
were born and grew up. So the poem transcends the personal and goes into the
social sphere. Towards the ending, the poem becomes almost political in raising
questions of right and left spectrum of political ideologies. The poem was
written at a time when there was this controversy of the Bengali poet Srijato’s
poem which was deemed to be not in good taste by a certain political class.
This poem was my response to the right-left conundrum. But despite this
political angle, the interrogation is from a very personal point of view where
I go back to my mother and my fellow poet’s mother and query which of them will
now become a Naxalite. History has given us enough evidence of repercussions of
rising extremism. But the layering does not end there. Apart from these
immediate contemporary and historical realities there is this whole look into
the business of a poem. The poem was written after World Poetry Day which is
celebrated by many coffee shops around the world where you pay for your coffee
with your poem. So it also interrogates the purpose of a poem as a
non-utilitarian creation of imagination which comments on social, political,
historical, as well as personal and private realities of life with an aesthetic
consciousness. Poetry is art and through my conversation with my fellow poet in
this poem, I am delving symbolically into the genesis of it – the genes of art
within the double helix of artistic creation. There are many other layers which
perhaps the reader will discover further. No doubt it is your favourite poem
and also mine and whenever I read it in gatherings, I am appreciated.
Lopa: On the other hand, there are poems like ‘Suicide
Bomber’, “The Wilderness of Binsar’ and ‘Silhouettes’, ‘Aleppo’ etc. where
several human images convey the essence of the multi-layered politics of the
world of our times, the world in a state of flux, of turmoil and turbulence.
How would you say the personal and political collides with each other in your
collection of poems?
Amit: Exactly the point I am getting at. The personal
is political and the political personal. When I am writing about love I am also
commenting about a political situation and vice versa. Love and politics
intersect and the turmoil of the world reflects the turmoil in my mind. So each
state can be interchangeably used linked by poignant metaphors. A poem should
yield to multiple interpretations and this is how through metaphors it is
embedded with meanings.
Lopa: In the
foreword, Dr. Sanjukta Dasgupta very engagingly elucidates the ever-expanding
domain of Indian English poetry and how poets like Parthasarathy, Kamala Das,
Nissim Ezekiel et al had employed the English language in their poetry as a
means of liberation of their poetic selves by indulging in cultural pluralism,
that resulted in “a cultural bridge between the home and the world.” We would
like to know how you envision this entire process as a poet belonging to the
domain of Indian English poetry.
Amit: There has always been cultural pluralism and
history has proof of it. No one except those who are still stuck in primitive
time warp can escape cultural pluralism. Just as no poem can have its meaning
alone, no culture can have its meaning alone. I have been influenced by both
Indian and Western tradition of poetry and it is a great advantage. This
advantage needs to be exploited to produce good poetry. English is the language
in which I am proficient and it is the language of my imagination. But that
does not mean I don’t use words from other Indian languages. Cultural pluralism
gives Indian poetry that richness.
Lopa: As a co-founder of Rhythm Divine Poets, a poetry
and arts collaborative based in Kolkata, you have been engaged in curating and
conducting many poetry and literature events in the heart of the city. Kolkata
has had the privilege of being the cultural capital of India since many moons
now, and poetry and art has been at the core of the city a long time before the
birth of this new generation of writers and artists who inhabit the city now. What
are the most fascinating elements of the poetry revolution in Kolkata currently
that you would like to share?
Amit: Rhythm Divine Poets (RDP), co-founded with Sufia
Khatoon and Anindita Bose, has created through sustained efforts a sort of
revolution in the poetry scene of Kolkata. It has given Kolkata visibility in
the poetry circles of the nation as well as the world. The events that we
organize round the year give local and visiting poets a platform in the city.
We have been appreciated by many people. But it could not have happened without
the support of senior poets like Sanjukta Dasgupta and Sharmila Ray. Now there
is also Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library (IPPL) which has joined
the bandwagon and we look forward to even more poetry related events and
promotion of the art form. What is most fascinating about this poetry
revolution in Kolkata is the enthusiasm of poets like Ananya Chatterjee, Joie
Bose, Nikita Parik, Ruth Pal Chaudhuri, Kushal Poddar and others in
participating in the cause and promoting the art. It is very encouraging and
positive. Also we have been very receptive to collaborations locally,
nationally and internationally. RDP believes that integration and autonomy can
exist side by side and we can always be open to better alternatives through out-of-the-box
thinking.
Lopa: What message would you like to give to young
aspirant poets, university students, young professionals from diverse sectors
in India who want to dive into the world of poetry publishing? Would you tell
them that in spite of many claiming otherwise, poetry is there to stay as a
timeless aesthetic art form?
Amit: Poetry is definitely there to stay. It has been
there even before the birth of language in the music of birdsongs and it will
outlive all of us. My advice to young poets is two-fold: first the practical
one – write, choose and then publish. It is a long process and unless you have
written enough it is foolhardy to publish a book of mediocre verses for a
serious poet. Start by getting published in journals and magazines. RDP runs
the Poetry Chapbook Contest and so does many other organizations outside India.
Participate in those competitions and get noticed. The second advice is that
since the poetry scene is now very vibrant, you have to work really hard if you
want to belong to the contemporary poetry scene. Don’t adopt unfair means but
rather invest yourself in the study of traditional as well as contemporary
poetry. Don’t seek instant success else you will end up just being a flash in
the pan. Aesthetics require cultivation. If you are good, and to know that it
will take time, you should have the sense that you will be among the poets for
posterity.
BIOS:
Dr. Amit Shankar Saha is a
faculty member in the Department of English at Seacom Skills University. He did
his PhD in English from Calcutta University in 2010. He is also a researcher, a
short story writer and a poet. His research articles have appeared in journals
and anthologies nationally and internationally. His short stories and poems
have been published in periodicals and books both in India and abroad. He has
won prizes at a number of writing competitions which include Poiesis Award for
Excellence in Literature (Short story-2015), Wordweavers Prize (Poetry-2011,
Short story-2014), The Leaky Pot - Stranger than Fiction Prize (2014),
Asian Cha – Void Poetry Prize (Commendable mention-2014), Reuel International
Prize for Poetry (Shortlisted-2016). Dr. Amit Shankar
Saha is also the co-founder and coordinator of Rhythm Divine Poets, a
Kolkata-based poets group dedicated to the promotion of poetry.
Lopamudra Banerjee is an
author and poet based in Dallas, Texas. Her memoir Thwarted Escape: An
Immigrant’s Wayward Journey (Authorspress, 2016) has been First Place
Category Winner at Journey Awards 2014 hosted by Chanticleer Reviews and also
received Honorary Mention at Los Angeles Book Festival 2017. She has received
the International Reuel Prize for Translation (2016) for Rabindranath Tagore’s
‘Nastanirh’ translated as ‘The Broken Home’ and also the International Reuel
Prize for Poetry 2017 instituted by The Significant League. She has been a
featured poet/artist at Dark Moon Poetry, a women’s poetry, Dallas. Her poetry,
stories and essays have appeared at reputed literary journals and anthologies. Her
recent publication titled ‘Woman and Her Muse’ published by Authorspress, is a
collection of poetry and memoir inspired by art, travel, Kolkata and cinema.
