Jaydeep Sarangi’s the half-confession:
soulful poems
Reviewed by
Dr. Seema Sarkar,
Professor,
Department of English,
Navyug Kanya Mahavidyalaya,
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
the half-confession: soulful poems | Poetry | Jaydeep Sarangi|
Penprints, 2024, INR
350, pp. 96
The poems transport to the Satyug and towards the vision of stone sculptures. Knocker-uppers and My Father’s House remind of Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.
Today, darkness has a voice, mysterious caller tones (18) brings us back to the mobile world of modern times.
Learning to make fire under an empty sky (20) encourages us to strive forth to do wonders. 'Among the human ruins, I rediscovered my father’s house’ (20) brings us back to the realistic surface of the 21st century. The cover with the title comes to life in the poem Falling Petals. The romance of Antony and Cleopatra comes before the eyes with the lines:
I borrow from your lips breath of my name you murmur.
I wait for your clammy touch sometime, somewhere. (22)
The half-confession brings a question to my mind–Is it a full confession of sorrow like Keats and Lamb? Further the yearning to make me your own in ‘An Acre of Love’ reassures my belief. Waters on High transport to the Egyptian world of Greek mythology, even Rani Laxmibai enters the world of Nefertiti. Ruins, Pains, Pangs lead to long night’s sleep. The poet seems to be disappointed with this modern age of lost generation as most of his poems bring the breeze of loss.. Alliteration on Rain makes me feel drenched in the pitter patter of rain. Some poems begin with a quote of Kalidasa, Paulo Coelho, John Keats, Victor Hugo, Agha Shahid Ali, Pablo Neruda, Stephen Mallarme etc. makes it a more interesting read for us. It is a beautiful blend of Greek and Indian myths.
I will tell you the story of Osiris…..
Medha in the Vedas, ancient epics of the world. (32)
The word ‘ruins’ flows from page to page in different shades.
At life’s crossroads under the sun’s gaze….
life's journey battles the night. (33) reminds me of the Upanishada shloka…. 'Tamso ma jyotirgamay’ leading towards hope…. Ebb of feelings run, wobble, fall, rise on each page.
Adam & Eve to Trimurti, from epics and scriptures, the pen moves on. Deep love engraved on the heart of the poet is the poem No Forgetting. I was transported to Konark Temple when I read Wheels of Stones. Word painting is the right word for these soulful poems. Ode to Nightingale flashed to mind’s eye, while I read Watching. The list of rivers is enchanting in Where are the Rivers gone?
my heart speaks of rivers, only like the rivers.
Each night I hear the rivers rising like desire
In the sky’s love making with the stars. (51)
What a deep thought the poet has shared with us! The yearning rings in the year….
I choose not to fall anywhere.
Only hungry for your hands, my dear soul-maker. (51)
The expectation is of the arrival of the beloved sitting beside him like the river to its banks. The lines of Your Sun is Never Old reminded me of Bangla saying of ‘taro nodi saat somudra paar’ and crossed thirteen rivers or seven wide seas but chose to love for ever, writing (p53) and this writing continues to flow on. Mahabharat characters enter through Lethe at ‘Love You More’. The poet wants to visit the temple of Alzheimer to forget the world and all rivers. The last line of Museums ‘in white, blue and yellow’ (pp56) took me to the world of Ross Business School, University of Michigan- these colours an essential part of it. With the rise and fall of rivers, the use of water is painted in daily chores of washing, cleaning, cooking and moping. Genesis reminds me of Wordsworth and Dorothy, facing Nature in different forms. Flowers to Fruits seem to have originated in Goa as seafood and cashew feni are mentioned. Jungles, mysteries and forever a long search leads to the road of many miles to go before sleeping. The elegant Sun God arises before our eyes:
Surya’s Chariot, twenty four wheels
led by a team of six horses. (64)
Feel enchanted to read Songs of the Stone
The Mahanodi is free, without clothes.
marks and scars on its bare watery body
asking me, what was I doing
all these years among the words? (67)
Love is explained in beautiful metaphors, symbols and the Breakfast invites very temptingly, lures to the table at the bank of the chosen river. Beas seems to be a favourite river of the poet as it is mentioned in many poems. Urvashi or Kali leaves many turbulent tides in my heart. Assi ghat of Varanasi flares before the eyes in Meeting you on the Ghat. The use of ‘Tigris’ in A Defeated Bard is three dimensional: of a river, the Hunger Games and a software product. Rain, tears, wind, pains, love, river get full confessions in most of the pages of this book.
We will walk together for two thousand years. (78) raises the question- why not eternal and who is this November guest? Who compelled this soulful music in the rain choir? Ancestors’ Grail exhaustively explores new avenues of thought process.
Silence punctuated by clever house flies. (pp87) has haunting connotations. Break! Break! and Ma, Ma has onomotopaeic effect. From one continent to another, this book is a global tour to academia. The poem dedicated to Keki N. Daruwala ‘The Map Maker’ touches the core of my heart as my birth place Mirzapur is at the bank of Ganges and I can feel it deeply–
I have always thought that if I were a
river, I’d be the Ganges
keeper of life in a landfall of truth….
everyone of us in the Ganges
between the soul and the night river- -
the doors swing open across the years.
In a nutshell, Jaydeep Sarangi’s poems are a rewarding read, unfolding the magical cascades.