Impervious R K Singh: A Critical Study of the
Collection Against the Waves- Selected Poems
Dr. Ram Kulesh Thakur
Assistant Professor
Department of English
SRM AP University, Andhra Pradesh
The fact cannot be overlooked that in the recent times a major
non-erasable chapter has been added to the history of Human Civilization (or
may be the ‘Un-civic’ side of modern man) and it records a difficult,
anxiety-provoking, and morally debatable decade; but yet, the silver lining may
be considered to be a few pieces of remarkable literature. To quote just an
example, one can find the rich tapestry Against the Waves- Selected Poems by
Ram Krishna Singh, Publisher: Authorspress, New Delhi, 2021.
Dr Ram Krishna Singh, one of the leading contemporary Indian poets
writing in English, celebrates his overall existence and each experience
whether dark or bright, dull or exciting, dreadful or captivating with the
simple looking but pregnant poetic lines. His poems reflect upon his vast
experience starting from his days of journalism to being a lecturer and then a
professor. Singh’s poems cover a wide spectrum of topics such as close
observations of the daily monotonous life, traditions, cultural beliefs, religion,
superstition, history, science, academics, research, corruption, social evils,
love, sex, art, modern practices, politics, etc.
The collection Against the Waves displays a colourful mosaic of
different experiences coming from different walks of life having different
themes making it more enriching altogether. A closer look at the Contents
Pages, i.e., 7-9, with a mention of 66 titles such as ‘Haunted’,
‘Self-Neglect’, ‘Rot’, ‘Dream’, ‘Weird Chains’, ‘Prayers’, ‘Insomnia’,
‘Quarantined’, ‘Covid- 19’, ‘NawRuz’, ‘New Gods’, ‘Flood’, ‘Test’, ‘Mahakaal’,
‘Tanshi’, ‘Warning’, ‘Creativity’, ‘Me Too’, ‘Rituals’, ‘Designs’,
‘Neighbours’, ‘Intellectuals’, ‘Enemy’, ‘Culture’, ‘Strike’, ‘Marriage’,
‘Lies’, ‘Rootless’, ‘Liberation’, ‘God Too Awaits Light’, ‘Silence: A White
Distrust’, ‘Redemption’ etc clearly bespeaks the poetic spectrum. It is
impossible to categorize Singh’s poems into specific sub-categories or thematic
headings as each poem is a different world, and more importantly, it is a
complete ‘Communicative Event’. Nonetheless, his poems may broadly be
partitioned into two major sub-headings: first, highlight the journey with-in
(personal inward experiences) and second, the worldly experiences (the day-to-day
encounters). The most striking observation in this collection is its use of
‘Fresh’ metaphors that are passionately intense. Some of the poems in this
collection display a classical poise whereas a few others dramatically create
the tremors that both undermine and bolster that poise. This collection has
something for every type of reader as a few of the poems are funny,
thought-provoking, serious, challenging, evocative, story-telling, satirical,
sombre, etc.
Unlike Singh’s other popular poetry collections, in Against the Wave she
decides to give an apt title to the poems making it easy for the readers to
construct a discourse. In fact, the titles are very wisely selected and they
rightly serve the purpose of constructing a desired suitable discourse platform
for the readers.
The first poem of this collection titled ‘Haunted’ straightaway exposes
the reader to the element of surprise, which is quite evident in his poems,
with the lines: “I don’t let silence sleep / even if none hear / the disturbed
spirit / growing wild to say / what I never say” (p 11). The 16 lines poem uses
only a three hyphens, two commas, and a colon that clearly reflects upon the
severity of tone. The major verbs: sleeps, grope, contain, hates, suffer, fear,
and hear significantly constructs a dark or negative emotion. The poem moves
inwards to project the state of being of the charred soul; the soul that is
‘Haunted’.
In one of the poems titled ‘It’s my Time’, Singh coins a new verb
‘hydraheaded’ to show his treatment of truth: “I’ve hydraheaded truth too” (p
12), and it clearly manifests that he falls short of regular language
vocabulary to express his unique experiences. His poems, quite frequently,
display his secular person as one can find uses of signs, symbols, myths,
images, archetypes, etc across religions, cultures, traditions, and geography.
To quote an example, one finds the use of “Christ’s kingdom”, “divine fruit”,
“Peter”, and “prophet” in the poem ‘It’s my Time’ (p 12).
Some of the poems in the collection are complicated as well. Here, one
finds the words moving faster than usual, with a constantly changing rhythm and
a centre in motion, and as a result, the poems are buoyant, often playful, as
they cover ground from desire to religion, aspiration to politics, need to
action, and dream to reality. Singh’s notable and prodigious ability of
experimenting with form and syntax surfaces in a good number of poems in the
given collection. For example, the poem ‘Energy Block’ presents the discordant
body and soul in quick bouts between words: “Frazzled and restless / bouts of anxiety
/ addiction, sleeplessness / spinal degeneration / pain in neck and back /
numbness in the legs / loss of teeth, libido / anal bleeding and what not”, and
it continues further in the lines “things get hairy and scary / with body
failure / ailments pop up / spirit dries up / mind disconnects”. (p 13)
As the poet is a world-renowned Haiku practitioner, the traces of
brevity, absolute imagery, wit, and momentous capture/depiction can be easily
found in some of the poems in this collection as well. For example, in the poem
titled ‘Post-Election’:
They don’t hear
the silent screams of
millions
tired of misfortune
play games of convenience
innocent voters
sordid life-
nation’s destiny
heaven-fed (p 15)
Here, one can find the three different stanzas (above) exactly
replicating the structure of a Haiku: the first stanza has 3-5-3 syllables in
the lines respectively, the second stanza displays 6-7-5, and again the third
is composed in 3-5-3 syllables, respectively. One cannot miss the powerful
images of ‘silent screams’ and ‘innocent voters’. To quote another example, the
poem titled ‘Rot’:
Moon energy
fills up the inner space –
call to wake up
or be hostage to wounds
that don’t autocorrect
astral faults
knitting the luck
amidst the waste gods spread
I smell the rot (p 16)
Here, one finds the syllabic structure of 4-6-4 in the first three lines
and last three lines respectively. Again, one cannot miss the use of the
technical term ‘autocorrect’ in connection to ‘wounds’, thus making it a
powerful imagery. Thus, one finds that Singh lives upto his worldwide repute
for capturing a ‘moment’ in his poems and making his reader re-live the same
with his sense of perception. Undoubtedly, Singh has given a new dimension to
the practice of ‘Haiku’ in the Indian Literary Scene, but even his other poetic
forms are equally powerful and evocative. It wouldn’t be inappropriate to quote
Singh here: “Living life in a boring environment, it is a challenge to sustain
poetic creativity. Yet I have survived the inner and outer sterility. It has
been great fun to use some small, negligible aspect of one’s behavior, or some
insignificant event, or something read or heard in the past that stays
unconsciously in the memory and gets connected some other time while something
incites me into a poem, or I get my own thoughts as I read somebody else’s
poem, or I recollect some complex dream experiences into the garb of a poem. I
see to it that the emotion thus expressed makes sense to me as an ordinary
reader and is not mere claptrap in the form of a poem.”
As expected, a few poems in this collection are pungent satire, or
better called sarcastic, such as ‘Aftermath’: “wisdom splashed in gonzo
arguments / cocks the walk. Others too feel his sting but prefer / silence.
They know the caged parrot’s free / to shame seven decades of democracy groomed
/ differently…” (p 18). The use of the terms such as ‘gonzo’, ‘sting’, ‘caged’,
‘parrot’, and ‘shame’ undoubtedly makes the poem pungent, and the repeated
quick succession of these terms adds a strong sarcastic tone to it. Singh can
never keep himself away from his surroundings and it is clearly reflected
through a few of his poems, although he never admits that he intends to make
his poetry didactic. One magnificent example displaying his social awareness is
the poem titled ‘Weird Chains’:
They invent new lies with periodical
distractions
repeat falsehood till truth turns doubtful
teach generations the ways of hating
the porn of discriminating, dividing, killing
the innocents that love their neighbours
value diversity, equality and peace
shunning the weird chains that lock the sun
for roots to grow (p 22)
One noticeable element in the poems of this collection is the absence of
‘period’ or ‘full stop’ from the poetic text, thus making each line run on to
each other not only adding serious tone to it but also indicating a state of
chaos that the poems’ discourse is suggestive of. The absence of adequate
pauses (not clearly indicated) makes the poems appear somber, but to some
extent ghostly. To quote another suitable example, one finds the same in the
poem titled ‘Insomnia-II’
My brain forgets to clean toxins
create and store memories
refresh my being and bliss
by morning the sun pronounces
my time is running out fast
there’s no magic elixir
for sleep that revives before rest (p 26)
A few poems such as ‘Quarantined’, ‘Covid-19’, ‘NawRuz’, ‘New Gods’,
‘Third Wave’ etc. in the collection reverberates the Covid 19 experiences where
the poet vehemently argues “the house arrest sickens / the fear kills the
spring” (p 29) and questions the “fanatic ambitions” (p 29). The poet labels
the recent unfortunate development as “culture of suicide” (p 29) and declares
“no re-creation / but perpetual death” (p 29).
The erotic images that come to life is yet another strong characteristic
of Singh’s poetry and the same is experienced in the poem ‘Creativity’:
The hole between words is vaginal
if the mind could penetrate
the seed won’t question age
inside the lines it crackles
with orgasmic pleasure
meanders through the tunnel
from first breath to oblivion
stays erect, liberates the text (p 48)
One cannot miss powerful erotic images scattered here and there in his
poems: “in bed sleepless she turns / undoing a hook or two / of her tight
blouse” (p 92), “love tickles / with erect pistil: / hibiscus” (p 92), “love
making / he melts into her / time stands still” (p 93), “the wax dips / down
the long candle - / a soft hum” (p 93), “fingers grope / the leaking pulp /
moist lips” (p 100), etc.
Singh, to provide an insight into his own poetry reveals: “What is my
poetry about? Much depends on the insight into how one responds to my poetry or
how delightful to the senses or challenging to the mind one finds it, or how
one wants to interpret my creative perception of meaning in the world. There
are many themes, individual passion, historic-mythical awareness, human
relationship, social consciousness. I am my own veil and revelation; I am both
the subject and the object and reveal others as much as I reveal myself.” In
the poem ‘Against the Waves’, the poet uncovers his charred soul: “The crowded
lift and emptiness of the flat / doesn’t help me resurrect what’s gone”,
“…invent a new life to live with”, “the ghostly silence”, and “…straying
against the waves” (p 23).
One cannot miss the real-life aura that the poet creates through his
poems, and hence, ensures that every reader’s interest is engaged: “Stand naked
/ before the mirror / see changes / from top to toe / a tragic tale” (p 31);
“Women and children / crossing the flooded huts” (p 33); “I can’t remember / my
mother’s face” (p 40); “I love the night with you / when sleepless we yield” (p
46); “Evening Walk: / a peep into my own / lanes and bylanes / bodily harmony /
a sense of inner calm” (p 53), etc. Most of the poems in this celebrated
collection elucidates Singh’s opinion: “Poetry is an art, a verbal art, which
when effective, generates some physical, emotional or psychosexual sensation,
stimulates some sensuous, spiritual or exalted pleasure, or provokes some mood
or aesthetic sentiments, feelings, thoughts or ideas. It is also subjective
expression of a social vision, reality or protest and an extension of the
poet’s self.”
Talking about different opinions on Singh, it would be erstwhile to note
that R. A. Singh explains in his essay “The Poetry of R. K. Singh” that the “.
. . poetry seems to be rooted in visions and divisions that traverse human
existence, feeling the pulse in the rhythmic flow of time. His social visions
intersect with the private; his flux of emotions creates a complex sound and
silence, waving through love, loneliness, failure, frustration, and memories in
search of home in a hostile world. His imaginings are not only delightful to
the senses but also challenging to the mind.” (170) The comment or critical
observation made here is equally valid for his latest collection of poems as
well, and it further suggests that the poet in R K Singh is the same although
he has received many more bruises. The latest collection of poems records his
present (recent) experiences, but it records the same in his established
signature pattern.
Stephen Gill points out in his essay “R. K. Singh: A Mystic Poet of
Beauty”: “The poet’s constant analytical deliberations plunge him often into
the abyss of gloom.” (178), and the same continues till his latest collection.
He looks disturbed by the Pandemic, Politics, Cultural Degradation, Social
Behaviour, Anxiety, etc. Although a lot of other critics have made remarkable
observations on the poetry of R K Singh, but the best comes from the poet
himself: “To tell you the truth, most of the poems I wrote have simply
happened. The poetic mood, short-lived as it is, would help create from
anything, anywhere, anytime. I can’t write a poem deliberately on a theme on
demand. Nor have I been interested in didactic or moralistic
writing. My emotions and experiences are, therefore, genuine and
sympathetic readers can relate to them. Personally speaking, a poem’s
composition helps me get a release from myself as much as from others or
whatever agitates me. I feel free by unburdening myself in verses; I experience
an inner relief, a freedom from the built-up pressure, tension, unease, or
whatever, you know. If it turns out to be a good poem, it offers a pleasing
sensation, rest to my disturbed nerves, and peace to my inner being. (http://creationandcriticism.com/113.html)
The poet has found a unique way of finding solace to his queasy heart
and that comes to him through his poetry. His poems serve him a direction into
which he wanders looking for the ultimate peace, relief, escape, or in simple
term ‘Nirvana’. The poet seeks meaning of the mystery of life, its
reality and pains through the eyes of Nature, metaphors of self-contradictions,
intrinsic dissonance, harmony, and identity through his poems.
Suggested Readings
Singh, R K. Against the Waves- Selected Poems. New Delhi: Authorspress, 2021.
R.A. Singh. The Poetry of R.K. Singh,Creative Forum, Vol. 5, No. 1-4, January-December 1992.
R.S. Tiwary. A Peep into the Poetry of Dr R.K. Singh,University News, Vol. XXXIV, No. 19, May 6, 1996.
Dominic, K V (ed). Rajni Singh’s“An Interview with R.K. Singh.” Critical Perspectives on the Poetry of R.K.Singh, D.C. Chambial and I.K. Sharma. New Delhi: ACCESS, pp. 48-53.
Rajni Singh and Ram Krishna Singh. Indian Poetry in English: In Search of Identity. New Delhi: Authors Press, 2012.
Dominic, K V. Discourses on Five Indian Poets in English. New Delhi: Authors Press, 2011.
Thakur, Ram Kulesh. R. K. Singh: The Poet Who Celebrates 'senses' to attain 'Nirvana.' UOCHJLL, VOL. 1, ISSUE 1, JUNE – DEC, 2017. pp. 136-54. ISSN: 2617-3611.
Thakur, Ram Kulesh. Poetic Communication: A Study of the Verbal Art. Jaipur: YKING Publishers. 2015. ISBN:9382532889.