Anything
that can allay the unease due to the ongoing eerie pandemic is welcome, and so
should be the poetry anthology Hibiscus aimed at “Healing and
Empowerment,” which its chief editor Kiriti Sengupta assures, “will
comfort and rejuvenate the readers to step into a world that might not allow
reckless lifestyles we were used to,” and wisely cautions, “Self-restraint
comes with a price,” and that the Covid-10 “has cautioned us to become sensible
and diligent” (p ii).
The
dynamic Kiriti, teamed up with two associate editors, says they have received
poems from 153 poets from across the world, but that they have retained only
the best. Finally, 160 poems by 104 poets (including 28 from outside India)
with some of them contributing more than one, makes up the anthology.
The
editors stipulate a 14 line cap on each poem for the sake of “concision” –
based on Kiriti’s “experience of reading poetry by a wide variety of poets both
young and veteran, and from various demography” for “the lack of brevity gives
me endless agony” (p i) – but ultimately, they end up accepting quite a few
poems that have shot up to 24 lines. And Anu Majumdar admits that they
“have made an exception” in some cases and also that “Some poems have veered
off the theme” as well (p vii). This judicious flexibility proves that the
length of a poem, unless it is a metrical one, can’t be stymied for it depends
upon the magnitude and intensity of the matter to be expressed, even as
verbosity per se can’t be justified.
The
editorial trio, instead of introducing the book through a joint preface, choose
to mirror their respective reflections separately under the heading ‘The
Silver Lining,’ in addition to Kiriti Sengupta’s exclusive ‘Hibiscus – a
palliative measure.’ Thus there are four intros to the book.
The
pandemic, despite the social distancing norms, should bring people emotionally
and spiritually together with a unity of purpose, and that spirit of bonhomie –
for charity should begin at home – infuses the three editors, Kiriti Sengupta,
Anu Majumdar and Dustin Pickering who mutually quote from their poems with
complaisance. And it is seen that the title ‘Hibiscus’ of the anthology is an
eponym of a poem by Kiriti Sengupta quoted by Dustin.
“As
the Coronavirus continues to take lives, our mission as poets and artists is to
think, to heal and to dream,” envisions Dustin Pickering (from Houston),
and also to “imagine what may come next” (x). And he doesn’t mind digressing
into political waters by hurling innuendos at President Donald Trump in a
scenario where divergent opinions could prevail.
The
poems in the anthology are varied in conception, presentation and diction; in
conveyance of import – from explicit to cryptic. So also the measure of healing
and empowering varies. Of course, these appraisals could differ from reader to
reader. While the punctuation is irregular in many poems, the font size of the
text of the poems could have been slightly bigger. And the bio of Anupama
Raju, one of the poets, is missing.
***
“These
days, Corona rules and inspires dread – like an ageing dictator, unsure of
public mood and friendly reactions towards his decrees. Everybody talks of
Corona only; this transnational virus stalks, maims and kills, often in the
arbitrary style of a mythical monster. It is grim scene!” Sunil Sharma
sums up the situation in his prose poem ‘Covid-19 and the Art of
Paper-Boat-Making.’
Now
that the gravity of the situation is clear, let’s us get to assess a
cross-section of the contents, and begin on an auspicious note of sagely wisdom
of benevolence to everyone and malevolence to none, via a sublime story,
narrated by Onkar Sharma. A peripatetic sage is waylaid, manhandled and
robbed of whatever little he has by a gang of thieves, and the leader
challenges him “to curse him to hell” –
but the saint radiates a smile and blesses
him to dwell
in a prosperous land where he doesn’t have
to steal
and where he doesn’t inflict anyone for
food but can heal.
(The Muni Of The Desert)
And the
story ends in the cathartic remorse of the thug.
Necessity
is the mother of invention. The pandemic while unsettling all of us has also
brought out some of our latent talents and powers. And Levi Marinucci
invokes such a strength –
I remember our resilience,
our ability to endure the most difficult.
... ... ... ...
I call upon strength I didn’t know I had,
I go through feeling the pain,
all the way into healing and renewal.
(All The Way Through)
And
there are situations where people can’t contain their pent-up negative
emotions, as in the poem by Gerard Sarnat –
So bad news aside,
silver lining’s southern fat
white racists may die
(Smoke This Sickness)
Perhaps
the reason for this negativity can be traced to his earlier poem ‘Inner Climate
Change’ –
Being human is
a bit more intense than most
of us can handle
The
prolonged lockdown has made us all homebound and in most cases, the familial
bond has got further cemented, as in Nabanita Sengupta’s poem –
In the open kitchen un-modular
conversation locked down for years
broke open sluice gates
Recipes of world
exotic spices
homegrown love
saut├йed melodies
healed some long time bruised hearts.
(Remedial)
While
on the home front, we need to inculcate values in our children by living them
ourselves. And we need to be introspective with an attitude of ‘Stop, look and
proceed,’ as Usha Akella suggests –
Let us offer our children our wisdom not
our greed.
Let us ask today, tomorrow and every day,
“Have I thawed at least one hard sinew in
my heart?
Am I lighter when I reach the other side?”
(Bridges)
What’s
empowerment as a means to healing in the current viral crisis? In my view, it’s
empowering ourselves with a matrix of mental makeup and executing an action
plan – uncompromisingly observing all the precautions prescribed by the state
as advised by health experts; keeping physically and mentally fit; being particular about our dietary regimen to
exorcise the claustrophobic devil; increasing our levels of immunity; knowing
about and emulating the gestures of the kind-hearted toward the needy &
hapless; being good neighbours; loving and protecting Mother Nature with her
flora and fauna; following the time tested soul-elevating practices in our
respective faiths; and cultivating a broader, eclectic, holistic, spiritual,
and philosophical view of things.
Coming
to the Nature part of the healing matrix, let’s hear what Shernaz Wadia
says –
We need to bear a solemn, sobering
responsibility
towards the vague future of a
metamorphosing world
Can we return to nature? At least turn to
it
while we battle an invisible, till now
unconquered force?
Nature’s cathartic beauty will help us
retain our sanity
(Nature Our Teacher)
Despite
all the precautions we observe and the grit with which we live, there could
still be some casualties, as Steve Denehan apprehends –
People are candles now
twilight flickering
some will blaze again
some will burn out
long before dawn
(The Virus, April 2020)
But
let’s bear in mind that none of us is immortal and it’s the way of life. We
have to accept life as it comes, with a stoic moxie. What matters is not mere
longevity but the salubrious quality of life that we enjoy. Hasn’t Ben
Jonson put it succinctly, as under?
“It is not growing like a tree
In bulk, doth make man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night—
It was the plant and flower of Light.”
So now, let’s sign off on a robustly optimistic
note with Sanjna Plawat’s lyrics –
That day will come when hugs are warmer
That day will come when paths are full of
laughter
That day will come when each day is a new
chapter
That day will come [sic]
no one is battling hunger
That day will come when home becomes a
place to gather
That day will come when we live as brother
and sister
(That Day Will Come)
