Poetry: L S Rathore

L S Rathore

Maenad Memories

 

Fondly I strove to rein memories in

Believing they’ve a rhythmic pattern

But consigned for long to oblivion,

They shifted hues like a chameleon

Striking like a dragon’s tail,

Leaving devastation in their trail.

 

Though unruly, they brook no order

Just crave soothing touch and loving nurture,

Fallible and ever in a flux,

They may be yoked to our purpose

Infuriated, they turn into Furies deadly

Exacting their pound of flesh furiously

Fused with fantasy, they work wonders

Moistening the soil which creative flower engenders.

***

 

 

Caravan of Memories

 

Ever since you bid good-bye

Without casting a lingering eye,

I have ever waited

With bated breath

For your softening look

With the power to hook.

Then your velvet memories began to trickle

Making the skein of shared moments unravel,

Flooding me like a deluge,

Making me more of a recluse,

Flickering tantalizingly,

Suddenly changed tack

Perhaps for a break.

 

Swooping down they lashed my heart

Radiating all around,

Those which had turned blancher

Regained vim, glow and colour,

Returning with a vengeance,

Staging a veritable resurgence,

They drenched me again in dew

Draping over me a vesture new

Not invading like locusts

Which devour whatever they can

But like frolicking fire-flies

 

Which dark rights illumine.

As John the Baptist survived on locusts and honey,

Your memories nourish me emotionally

In the midst of spiritual wilderness

Soaking in and diffusing grace.

***

 

L S Rathore is a critic, Professor and the author of Romance over Coffee, The Delphic Musings & Eagle’s Coin.

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Setu, April 2021 :: Icebergs in the Mind: Memory, Dream and Desire

BOOK REVIEW: The Delphic Musings

Review by NishiPulugurtha

The Delphic Musings

by L.S. Rathore

Cyberwit, Allahabad, 2020

₹ 350.00 INR

 

 

      The Delphic Musings is Laxman Rathore’s second volume of poems. The poems in the volume under review speak of the poet’s art, of nostalgia, of travel and longing, of myths and life.  In the foreword to the volume poet, critic, translator and academic Jaydeep Sarangi notes that Rathore’s poems are characterized by an “irrepressible zest”. “The poems in this volume,” Sarangi writes, “are not merely the experiences and realization of life,” they are an “aesthetic celebration of the self”. It is this poetic self that comes out vividly in the poem “Why I write” where he speaks about what inspires him to write poetry.

Nishi Pulugurtha

The poems reveal a sense of sensitivity to nature, an immense sense of longing, the gnawing absences that tear, a wide canvas that brings in myriad aspects of life. “Fire-Flies” voices the charm of nature wonderfully in its evocative lines that describe this little insect.

Each fragile beetle radiated amber sheen

From its supple body amidst green

The long poem weaves myriad images from the natural world that evoke a sense of reverie –

I wonder how these ephemeral creatures

Fill us with lasting pleasures.

There are poems that speak of gender, of patriarchy and of contemporary socio-cultural issues in this volume. “The Play-mate” speaks about appearance and reality in a world that snares and deceives. He brings in the reference to Satan –

The same reptile drove Adam out of paradise

Yet we do not learn to be wise

His poems have an element of story-telling in them that bring out nuances that linger on. “The King’s Palanquin” speaks of power and glory that divides and separates. It speaks of inequality in society and also the fickleness of fortune in a world where everything is uncertain.

Eventually it did fail

And struck its own death-knell.

In a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic country like India, myriad identities specific to a region bring in resonances and meanings that create a rich tapestry. Rathore’s poems bring in many of these regional ideas, adding a new facet to his expression. This is seen in the long poem “The Phad: Singing the Tale” which speaks of the folk art of Rajasthan. Rathore evocatively brings in the colours, the glory, the music and painting fusing it into a poetic form that brings out the essence of the state and its culture. It is interesting to note that the poem brings in references to Greek mythology by way of comparison thereby revealing his background in English literature. This is noted in the title of the volume as well.

As they portray tales of gore and blood.

…

One is carried away as the pageants unroll

The poem is followed by a glossary that explains the names and words that are specific to Rajasthan. It would have been good if the glossary could be given at the end of the volume or in footnotes.

Rathore’s fascination with Hindi film music is seen in poems like “Apology to Gulzar”  which is an apologia to the poet where he speaks his fascination with his work too and “Pancham: A Tribute to R.D. Burman”. In the latter poem, he reveals his great fascination for Burman’s music and songs that is referred to in the poem.

He put out songs with such dash, punch and panache

That they still haunt and soothe us with their grace.

There is a reference to Apollo in the poem as well, possibly a harking out to the title of the volume. “The Last Phase” is a recreation of a poem by Gulzar and it becomes clear as to why he wrote “Apology to Gulzar.” “The Empty Pockets” too begins with a reference to a few lines from Gulzar that serve as the inspiration for Rathore’s poem.

            “The Lonely Sun” beings with a reference to a song by Rabindranath Tagore, a song that speaks of going on alone – “Ekla Cholo Re.” Rathore’s poem speaks of this idea by using the image of the sun. The poem has an epigraph – “The sun is alone too, but still shines.”

The glow of the sun is its own, nor a gift of a deity

Nor does the lack of company eclipse its glory.

            The short, succinct poem “Poetic Review” speaks of rhyme, of phrase and idioms that are so much a part of poetry.  The title reminds one of Rathore’s academic training and background once again. The poem also speaks of his poetic art – “I commit minor linguistic crime”. “Waxing Lyrical” voices thoughts about poetic composition in rhyming couplets that create a sense of the sonorous and a sense of urgency as well – “Singing eases our tension”.    “An Appeal” speaks of the need to read new voices who expect a response, a look, a reaction to their poems and hopes that somewhere, maybe one poem will appeal to the readers. 

            The volume includes review of Rathore’s first volume of poems Romance Over Coffee and an interview with the poet where he speaks of his art, inspiration and the various influences on his poetry.  The poems in The Delphic Musings bring together a myriad range of images and ideas together to speak of themes and subjects that cover the entire gamut of human life. Written mostly in a simple poetic idiom, the poems reveal a sensitivity that the idiom conveys very well. 

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Setu, Febuary 2021

Romance over Coffee, by L S Rathore

Jaydeep Sarangi

Romance over Coffee
Author: L S Rathore
Cyberwit.net, Allahabad
2019, Pp 185, ₹ 750.00 INR

Reviewed by Jaydeep Sarangi

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Poetry as Laxman Rathore outpours home of thoughts in a language that is beguilingly soothing, sedative and lucid. His pen voices life’s true colours and shades, small things of our being. Rathore’s maiden collection is a pledge for tomorrow’s sun. His magic box is veritable wonder. When we whisk through his poems we notice many hues and colours of lived moments. Do all impressions have a soul? Senses make out their mates. Rathore counts them one by one, leaf after leaf
“The saffron rose is lighted by the rising sun
While the cherry ones vie with it in beauty --one by one.
Three little hearts too want to run the race
Join with little bulbous stars to transmit grace.”
On meeting the beloved the lover's joy knows no bounds. The poet feels as if he has been gifted with world's riches,
“Things which possess external glitter
Rivet our attention sooner than later.”
While on one hand poems by the poet are narratives on the poets’ identity, roots, life-spring, dreams, passions, commitments and analysis of the remotest nooks of their mind, these are also explorations of specific relationships, relationships in general, as well as inward relations. There are some moments of self-discovery, but still more, of metaphysical quest into where we are headed, tinted by a super-sensitivity towards the parameter of time. The spectrum is wide and varied. Every artless wish is a full song in emotions recollected in solitude. Like a coy mistress, all heightened sensibilities experience waiting, a promise of renewed and hope. However, at a close view, there are perhaps some common threads running through the collection. Some of these are: a feeling of cultural celebration, sensitivity to nature, an indefinable sense of longing, and hope, both personal and social.

Poetry comes from the highest happiness or the deepest sorrow of the mind. Rathore has the expertise of delving deep and presenting the rich literary and cultural tradition of India in the most splendid way. He is a keen observer of life around his and the world, which seems very strong in her verses in this collection. Small things keep happening in Rathore’s poetry as he outpours his home of thoughts in a language that is beguilingly soothing and lucid. His sweet-flowing and liquid cadence is attractive for the excessive use of liquid consonantal sounds and there is an indomitable gusto that engulfs our sensitive mind to read his images more than once,
“Today's coffee stirred my imagination
So it craves for speedy recognition.”

This timely collection attempts to stitch together a lot of subjects under one roof just as life and its different shades is a whole made of very disparate parts. It is very daring in the power of positive imagination, full of practical wisdom, and simple truths of life’s daily acts in a language which is inviting and sensuous!

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words. Rathore has beautiful words and images for it:
“No-one knows who will embrace
Whom, the gaze which intoxicates us
Would bring us to our senses
The world may be lost in other things
But I am engrossed in my beloved’s charms.
Shall we spill the goblet of wine?”

A good poem is a contribution to sensibility. Love is the poetry of the senses. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it.
“Friendship works on mind, body and soul
And transforms our being as a whole.
The way it affects is holistic
And at most times therapeutic.”

Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood. Laxman Rathore has this rare gift. To us, art begets art. Laxman Rathore is a poet of wakeful sensibilities,

“She draws towards her even deer
Filling their hearts with cheer,
Even the animals feel magnetically drawn
To her and pay her fawning admiration.”

Whisking it page to page is like basking in the evening cozy light. Poetry make things happen with vibes and it resonates in the mind for a long spell. It spills over white pages and glitter with dignified cadence and rhythm.

In Romance over Coffee poetry and beauty are always making peace. Rathore tries to make out peace by licking his imaginative tenderness:
“I will entreat her to take the first lick
Only then will l every drop sip.
Lo ! even before l touched it
It gave me a delicious kick(.)”

Poetry is an act of reviving memory of silence, slow rain. Rathore is a member of this rich tradition in India. For Rathore, dreams keep dressing up. Here he stands out of the ordinary. Every artless wish is a full song in emotions recollected in solitude. Like a shy lover she embraces the poet:
“After taking only two draughts she passed the cup to me
That too because I made to her an entreaty.”

Waiting is like the seed imagines its further growth. Rathore makes us wait. The poet keeps her not to part with the selfie. Readers wait, faithfully. In this collection the poetic soul has urges to speak the time of being alone and happy. The poet returns to his wordy pool each day. His poems record minute details of senses, daily sounds and sights, enclosures and limits:

“We hardly notice flowers blooming in deserts
Though they surpass in beauty others.
The camel Thistle is such a flower
That draws even a spider to suck nectar.”
Clouds pile on clouds. Images rain in our mind. Rathore makes flowers bloom in deserts. These smart and engaging poems fill up our empty moments. When we read this fascinating collection we realize how important is these rare moments of life. Refreshing pictures add extra flavour to the poems. His pictures set us free from bonds of mundane acts. The result is that we sail freely and happily.
Rathore is a rare gift who enjoys a sublime sense of commitment and integrity with a caravan of images drawing from different source. His poems are worthy reading as he makes the reader sit and enjoy reading them again and again, ‘era after era’.

Setu, October 2019