Ayodhyanath Choudhary
As the book unfolds, one’s eyes are sure to be captured by the dedication words “Dedicated to the neglected and marginalized people and the martyrs of India who laid down their lives for the safety of the rest of the people living.” This fills readers with feelings of concerns for the marginalized, and immense love and respect that poet Bhaskaranand Jha possess for his country and countrymen. Readers’ heads are equally held high with feelings of nationality and patriotism. Next follows a very scholarly and comprehensive foreword by U Atreya Sarma who equally captures our mind and fills it with feelings of praise and respect for his commendable approach to this great anthology. The poet’s own acknowledgments speak much about his knowledge, wisdom, sense of gratitude and above all his humbleness which appears vividly towards the end of his say. Writing 81 poems with the same spirit from the beginning to the end in a language other than his own is surely not an easy task to perform.
The first line of the first poem “Where corruption prevails” is a testimony to the poet’s obsessed mind where he sees his country deep-sunk in rampantly corrupted atmosphere all around. Even the leaders who are supposed to lead the country to a better future are not in exception, and therefore don’t deserve ‘ shrouds of floral tribute ‘ both in and after life. The poet feels deep despair deepening in him with the cacophonous words of the world.
“Two Indias and other poems” talks of India before and after independence. The long struggle for freedom which caused so many sacrifices, ultimately leading to emancipation from cruel clutches proves meaningless as the plight of the poor remains wholly unchanged. The ugly scene shows that free India still sobs and heaves as enslaved India sobbed and heaved in the past, before 1947. The poet in another poem talks about the same situation lurking even now in a very sad and grieved tone–” The tricolor looks unwilling to unfurl. “What a heart- felt imagination! When there is excess of anything, people’s mind finds even an inanimate thing like a flag looking sad and inactive.
His immense respect and regards for two idols or rather say two ideals Gandhi and Shastri, who were fortunately born on the same date October 2, is depicted beautifully in a poem. He is perpetually concerned with the loss of love, compassion and humanity in the world. Fratricide born out of fanaticism prevails everywhere. Let us hear the seriousness of the situation in his own words-
Religion lies
Humanity dies
God flees
And Society cries.
What a tragic situation!
In another similar poem about Delhi, only his own lines can express the sordid situation best-
Oh, Delhi
Why do they rape so much
And you have to face so much rapping?
Bhaskaranand Jha talks about culture and rituals but he doesn’t ceremonies them. Here also, he is obsessed with the darker side of the situation prevailing in the present day society. In the poem “Hands that ties Rakhi”, the poet means to say that the ritual is losing its sanctity. The irony is the protector himself becomes the culprit. Belief has lost its value, and therefore the poet says-
Tying Rakhis on the weak wrists
Loses its inherent meanings
Putting the brotherly section
To their ignominious shame!
In the poem “Mass Exodus: Back and Forth ” the poet feels very sympathetic when he sees his countrymen working as laborers in a very pathetic situation days and nights. Affected badly by how grievously they are exploited in the foreign lands, the poet expresses his feelings in the following lines-
Forgetting their own true identity
As human beings!
How strange! Even dogs get a better treat
In the land they till and toil.
For them at a place, he uses the following adjectives like mute, dumb, numb, forced, scared homeless bodies. It is remarkable that the poet says them “mere bodies “not souls which humans are really gifted with.
Though neither contextual nor customary, I must admit that I have a problem with Mr. Jha that whenever I want to express about his poems, I fall in a fix- which of his quotes to cite and which ones to leave. All look equally important. I can’t take all that I have appreciation for. If I go on to give my own appreciation, the review becomes bulky. So I become selective with the least of my selection of his poems.
In the poem “Hounds of Politics” exploitation of the poor by the rich is evident in the following lines-
The poor have no options
To escape their long traps
Oft victimized they feel
By the men in white drapes.
When many things are in a mess, it’s natural for a responsible citizen to look up to the failing governance of a country. He begins to think about the future of the state and the National flag. For him, it seems all is not working well. Let’s visualize here-
Tired tricolors
Amidst clarion salutes
Unfurl writhing wreaths of wrath.
I will say it an apt personification when the poet sees the inanimate flag furious with furies.
In the poem “Dog Culture ” also, his mind revolves round the pitiable plight of the poor as well as the marginalized. Dogs, due to their masters ‘ ultra- lifestyle, get and enjoy VIP treatment but most humans are ill- fated enough to live their lives like a dirty, hair- spoiled dirty dog. The poet sees paradox between two kinds of our lives- one affluently luxurious and another working hard to live from hand to mouth.
In the poem “For Thee, Father of the Nation” the poet amusingly uses a few old- age terms like ‘brethren’, ‘thee’, ‘thou’, ‘thy’ to remind us the poetry of Shakespearean Age. Young learners of today will have to ask their teachers or consult a dictionary to find out what these small resembling terms mean really.
His poem “Political Brouhaha ” like many other poems tell stories of sorrow, suffering and suffocation among people, but it has become an exemplary poem for his abundant use of alliteration. The last three stanzas may be cited as the examples but I would like to quote here only one-
Guilt of pedagogues
Gonging grave grievances
Goes on gagging the grievers in deep agony.
In the poem ” 16th December: Black day for humanity”, the poet talks about the so -called Philistine Jehadis’ inhuman acts which bring tears in our eyes-
Of – fanatic, lunatic terrorists
Satiated with sadistic pleasure
In cruelly butchering
The innocent school children
Maiming their mothers and fathers.
In “Freedom is chained”, the true picture of the present day society is apparently visible when the poet says “the country is unchained, freedom is chained in a free reign of terrific terror. ” But the stanza above the last touches the climax of the poem-
The skeletons of the destitute are hung
Stinking out shame for all those
Badly lost in sumptuous spree.
But the last lines are not less when the poet expresses his agony in this way-
Oh ! Ah !
Mother India feels extremely sad
Still chained, whipped up, and enslaved!
In “Sobbing Sita” Sita is represented as an epitome of Love, a crusader but towards the end the poet becomes overwhelmed with her greatness of utmost reverence in the following lines –
Even Ram had to feel demoralized and humiliated
By the purity of the heart and soul of a Maithilani- YOU
A fountainhead of all primordial energies- Shakti.
A Maithilani beginning with a capital M and a YOU written with all capital letters talk about the land of ancient Mithila which has been reputed for ages and is well- described in the epic called The Ramayana. Her purity and sacrifice is described throughout the epic but towards the end in the story she prefers to get lost in the lap of Mother Earth underground to remain as the Queen of King Rama in Ajodhya. The sudden tear with a loud noise in the Earth and the appearance of Mother Earth in her chariot and the sad departure of Sita to be lost in oblivion caused, causes and will cause tears in people’s eyes for ages to come.
In the poem ” Mithila: Land left in Lurch ” the poet bemoans the present painful picture of Mithila, once a land of vibrant culture, chivalrous learning and ancient heritage, wisdom and broad- mindedness. Today it looks scattered in fragments due to ego- clashes rooted in their so- called elite class. In the last lines, the sad picture looks pitiable-
Vultures of casteism are looming larger and larger
Eating into the vibrant culture and amicable ambiance of Mithila.
Mr. Bhaskaranand Jha is very kind- hearted and is moved by the screams of Sonagachi when he sees the pitiable plight of prostitutes, used and reused as sex objects, not humans. He meditates when and how their sufferings can be alleviated and how they can “get rid of their pathetic, sad plights in the dark dungeon of Sonagachi, flooded with their pains, eyeful rains.
In the poem “The Earth can’t shake our spirit “the poet has extremely bold faith in humans. In spite of lots of suffering at the time of the earthquake and the aftershocks. As the title itself suggests, people do not lose all the hope and face manifold challenges bravely. Let us see the purport in the poet’s own words-
They stand up on their feet
Time and again
And write their destiny
Their own course of life
And in this strive of rebuilding
Lies their glory
Perennial and pristine!
This shows that human indomitable spirit remains so strong that it cannot be crushed down.
There are four poems related with Durga Bhagwati – the first one welcoming the advent of the very powerful Goddess; the second one finds the Goddess in distress due to defeating noises, diseased faith and deceased conviction and the consecutive third one deals with the procession for immersion which is all agog with salacious dances and similar songs and the fourth one as demon is reborn each time we think ill of songs, losing all sanctity and virtues. This shows the poet’s varied occupations of different aspects of the same subject or incident at different times.
“Railway platform” presents the scene of a very busy world where there are winners, losers and onlookers at the same place. Getting into a crowded train proves a very tough challenge where the first, the fast and the fittest win, and others are forced inside but some are unlucky enough to be thrown outside or get crushed under the wheels. The poet uses a very matching term “pregnant platform ” where countless sperm like passengers crawl in the ovum- like platform. This also shows that Jha is also attracted by small things like the scene on the platform which we all see but ignore. But he gave importance and made it a topic of his poem.
“Me Too” is a poem of portraying meeting of lovers and their parting from each other with an indefinite future. The present day world is full of incidents where many people suffer incessantly ultimately leading to divorce resulting in distress. “Me Too ” the other day was an allegation made by some women which engulfed many high profile personalities exposing their illicit relation putting them into trouble.
There are still many poems left without review as they would make my thought- out ‘short’ as unexpectedly long. So , to summarize I must admit that Bhaskar Jha is an exceptionally talented poet whose mind remains engaged in all kinds of political, social, national and international issues. He is a multi-talented litterateur whose heart burns with immense humanitarian and patriotic feelings. Looking into his command over words, he is a dictionary in himself. If I group his poems, 52 of his poems tell stories of sorrows, disappointments and negativity in life. Two of his poems like October 2 and Surgical Strikes sing songs of patriotism and nationality. Five poems talk about our culture, rituals and celebrations. 13 poems talk about positive attitude or rather say good things in life. Two of his poems talk about Natural calamities and six of his poems pay tribute to National Heroes of the nation.
At last, I can’t help to express a few words about his scholarship bound with an exclusive talent, his honesty to his job, his gentlemanship mingled with politeness which altogether go to make him an ideal personality.