BOOK REVIEW
GANTANTRA MEIN GORAIYYA
( Hindi poetry collection )
By Maharaj Krishen Santoshi
Published by Anamika Prakashan
ISBN:978-93-95966-00-9
Year of Publication 2023
Price ..Rs199/=
Maharaj Krishen Santoshi is a well-known Hindi poet and writer from the J&K UT. His poems and short stories have been published in many leading Hindi magazines in the country . Many have also been translated into various Indian languages including Telgu, Dogri , Punjabi, Gujarati , etc. He has published five poetic collections and a collection of short stories titled ,’Hamaare Ishwar Ko Tairana Nahin Aata” .Prof Arvind Gigoo has also translated his poems in a collection titled, ‘The Chinar is My Address’. He has received many awards including the Best Book Award from J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages .He has also been awarded ‘Sauhaardh Samaan’ by the Uttar Pradesh Hindi Society . He hails from Mattan town in the Kashmir valley and presently lives in Anand Nagar , Bohri ,Jammu.
The present poetic collection under review is titled, ‘Gantantra Mein Goraiyya ‘. Published in 2023,the book comprises 89 poems spread over 104 pages .The poems are brief, crisp and deal with existential predicaments apart from other subjects like exile ,memories of lost home, lost friends, life in camps, love, fear, parental memories, etc. Apart from this, there is a bunch of mini poems dedicated to Buddha written under the title, “Budh Ko Sambodhit Kavitaayein”.
I believe good poetry flows out freely from the heart and it can never be an intellectual process. Born not in the mind but in the heart full of feelings and sensitivity, good poetry makes the reader exclaim with delight, “Yes, that's it! That's right! Yes ,that is exactly how I feel! ”.In all the poems in this compilation, one comes across Santoshi’s intense observation and equally sensitive and uncomplicated presentation. Through these poems, Santoshi’s effort is to capture the essence of the chord struck in him by an instant of insight, in such a way that the same music sounds in the soul of the reader. That makes these poems readable, lovable and appreciable. Santoshi’s poetic canvas is wide and he discusses many other issues through his poems apart from the exile that he painfully experiences. Through his poems, Santoshi also attempts to elucidate his own destiny. What interests the reader in the ideas appearing in his poems is their dramatic significance with reference to the poet himself. That also makes him come to some extent, closer to a few modern Kudish poets especially Kajal Ahmed and Abdullah Goran . The emergence of modern Kurdish poetry marks a period of great significance in the history of Kurdish literature since it witnessed the advent of modernity, the rise of Kurdish nationalism, the fall of the Persian and Ottoman Empires, and the creation of the Middle East with no country for Kurds.The poems carry a sense of loss , pain ,an intense feeling of nostalgia and perpetual exile . Many exiled Kashmiri poets like Santoshi also feel and express similarly
.I quote some samples from the poems of Santoshi appearing in the book under review :-
(1)
“Mitti ke devta
Kitne bhi pooje jaayein
Par woh darte hain
Baarish se “………… ( A Mini Poem )
(However intensely
You may worship
Gods made of mud ,
Remember,
They fear a simple rainfall.)
(2)
“Baarish mein bheeg rahi thi
woh stree,
aur mein khidki se dekh raha tha
uska badan
Budh !
mein kya karta
khidki bandh kar deta
tau bhi woh stree
mujh se aujhal nahin hoti.” ( from …Buddh Ko Sambhodit Kavitaayein )
(The woman kept
Drenching in the rain,
And I kept looking
at her body from my window.
My Lord ! My Buddha !
Tell me , what could I do ?
Had I shut the window,
still then,
that woman would not have
become invisible for me )
(4)
“O Ishwar ,
Ek baat poochhoon,
Hamaari vethaayein,
Hamaari praarthanaayein,
Kis daak ghar se pahunchati hogi aap tak
Meray gaanv ka daakiya kahaa kartaa tha
Ishwar ke yahaan koyi daak-ghar nahin
Vahaan bus athaah shoonya hai
Jis ka koyi pincode nahin.”……..( From the poem ….Ishwar Ke Yahaan koyi Daak-ghar Nahin )
( O God!
Should I ask a question ?
Through which post office,
Our painful stories ,
Our innumerable submissions ,
get delivered to you ?
The postman of my village used to tell me ,
“There is no post office in God’s town,
There is only infinite emptiness
That has no pincode .)
(5)
“Aangan mein kunkuni dhoop ho
Havaaon mein pakay huve sebon ki mehak
Aana tum
O mrityu ,
Dabochana nahin,
Jaise iss jeevan ne liya daboch ,
Chhoona ang ang
Jaise koyi kunti
Khayaalon hi khayaalon mein
Chhu rahi ho
Apne kisi karan ko “………( From the poem Mrityu )
( In the courtyard ,
Let there be a pleasant sunshine ,
Let the air be
laden with the fragrance of ripe apple fruits ,
Then come ,
Come, O Death !
Visit me ,
Don’t pounce upon
The way this life has seized me ,
Come ,
touch every part of my body
the way some Kunti ,
in the chain of her dreams
keeps caressing her own Karan.)
(6)
“Yeh jo itna kuchh chhap raha hai kaagaz par
Kya bhula diya jaayega raddhi samajh kar
Kya naahak kaate gaye peid
Kya naahak padi gayi kitaabein
Kya naahak aadmi ne sapne dekhe
Ya
Jab tak rahegi bhaasha
Kaagaz iss duniya ko vishwaas dillaata rahega
Aksharon ko dohte dohte
Na kabhi thakeinge
Na kabhi raddhi hone se dareinge) ………( poem Kaagaz )
(These voluminous writings on paper
Shall the world forget this all like scrap ?
Then,
Were the trees cut without need ?
Were the books read without need ?
Did man engage in dreaming without a need ?
Or
Till the end of this world ,
The paper shall keep reminding the human race
“ carrying these words day after day on my shoulders ,
I shall neither get tired
Nor shall I be afraid of turning into scrap ,or waste )
To the lovers of good poetry, I recommend this book. Here is something fresh, readable and enjoyable.
( Avtar Mota )
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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