FOREWORD to The Songs of Humanity By M. A. Rathore

The author, Mohan Lal Verma is an upcoming poet of the modern world in the field of English literature. He writes in Hindi and Rajasthani also. He belongs to a middle-class family in Rajasthan. He has shown extraordinary talent in composing his poetry and reciting it on his blogs and YouTube channels. By profession, he is a lecturer in English. He is a man full of thoughts and words. He writes with his heart and tries to maintain the standard and rhythm of Indian mythology in his poetry.
 
He is a true follower of Indian philosophy and believes in the theory of karma. He is a hard-working teacher and a dedicated soul in search of true God and the most appropriate fellow who fights for the downtrodden. He has a heart that throbs for humanity and peace. He is an avid reader who has never wasted his time on trivial things but makes use of the best of it and keeps himself busy in doing fruitful jobs such as initiative teaching, writing, playing music, etc.
 
Though poetry writing is not an easy task yet he finds himself close to the secrets of poetry. In his life, he has accepted the dark and din with a heavy load of mental distraction while he was struggling for success. He never said a word to society but his suffering made him realize that he should pen down his sorrows and sufferings in black and white, as the outburst of his powerful feelings in poetry.
 
Poetry is the medium of expressing something great and hidden, and Mr. Verma is the master of poetic sensibilities. The openness of his mind paves the way for innocent expression in his poetry regardless of caste, colour, and creed. He is the man of his word who favours the fundamentals of humanity.
 
“The Songs of Humanity” is the debut collection of poems by Mohan Lal Verma. It is a bunch of 80 poems with several styles including sonnets, and Gammo style, and most of his poems are in free verse. Though most of his poems are praiseworthy yet it is better to discuss some of his best poems here.
He is an optimistic bent of mind. He believes that hard days will never remain. He thinks a man should have at least faith and hope. He writes in his poem ‘Hope’:
If the storm of adversity affects your life
Hope works like an anchor of the ship;
If you are on the battlefield with cuts and wounds,
It acts as a soothing dressing;
Antibiotic medicine, if you have not become lazy.
 
How fantastically he expresses his images which ultimately motivate a man to work more if he has felt low and disappointed in life! See the next poem entitled ‘Optimism’ that makes a man optimistic and gives strength to the despaired.
What though the night is dark today
And you are surrounded with dense despair;
There is always a silver lining after heavy rain
For the new moon of hope and bliss.

Those who suffer much can guide and motivate. In this regard, he instills his readers with courage by giving several examples when he says:
Who will accept a challenge?
If he has not had enough courage and promptness,
Initiative attitude and steady efforts;
Moreover, the patience that has wings of hawks.
 
One should have faith if one wants to get something from life itself. He praises his readers to have belief if they want to come up with their original selves. They should have a belief in the theory of karma. He dictates:
When an infant shows his belief
In his mother he becomes graceful;
Like the faith of a mountaineer
That gives him a way to measure
The peaks of unconquerable mountains.
 
The poem ‘Why Do I Write?’ is a search within. The poet explores the hidden secrets of life. His motto becomes clear. We can see his vast thoughts even in this single poem which shows his determination and inclination as a poet.
The secret of birth and death I disclose,
Strolling around the earth I feel a repose;
I travel over oceans, deserts, and mountains,
Beholding the scenic beauty of plush plains.
 
In his poem Love, we can observe his deep brooding when he tells us that love is life and life is love which is close to platonic love. He says:
Love is the bondage of the souls
Without any difference of sex and creed;
Away from the physical or spiritual call,
Love is life and life is love.

Describing several instances in his poem entitled Sacrifice; he concludes that we have to sacrifice our lives for the cause of the poor and downtrodden. He says:
For the cause of human welfare,
Great people sacrifice their lives;
And show the path of sublimation
To the afflicted and ignorant human being.

To bring a smile to the face of a man if someone behaves properly to please the deserted soul can bring him back to life. The poet is a true soul when he requests the readers to bring harmony and peace. In his poem Appreciation, he feels grateful to God:
If we feel grateful to God
For all his gifts and grace,
For His fortune and favour,
Above all, He makes us sleep and awake,
We should appreciate His love and kindness.

All of the above-mentioned quotations show that Mr. Mohan Lal Verma is a poet of promising nature. He is the master of his verse. It shows that he sits on a pulpit and delivers his message like a great saint. I am looking forward to reading more of his poems and congratulating him on his first debut.©

Two and Half Years (novel) (Review)By M. A. Rathore

"Two and Half Years” is a novel by Dinesh Upadhyay, born on 9 March 1976, the upcoming voice in the modern world of novelists. Hailing from Didwana, Nagaur in Rajasthan, he is by profession a teacher. He is the master of his art of dramatization. The novel presents the psycho-analysis of the character of the protagonist, Diwakar. He poeticizes his situations when he is in his deep thoughts.

By nature the main character, Diwakar is a teacher who believes in scientific knowledge more than merely false assumptions of astrology; though astrology is science itself. He tastes the bitter fruit of reality and the tragic aftermath of his luck while struggling through his job-oriented career in different private institutions. Though working diligently and with dedication, he faces the shrewd reality of institutional crookedness and how it exploits the teachers and tries to get the maximum out of them, paying them a meager wage. Diwakar protests the so-called service and loses his job for so many times but in the end; he wins, for his courage as predicted by Shastri, the fortune teller. He had predicted the turning of his luck after two and half years, the total period of the coil of Saturn and the Rahu" which was a decisive remedy for the sorrows and sufferings he has been facing from the very start of the novel.    The whole plot of the novel revolves around Diwakar. He is the mouthpiece of the novelist who himself is also a teacher by profession.

Intrigue plays a dominant role in the narrative; especially to confiscate of the property of the elder brother, Jagdish by his relatives which are reported to the court for justice, meanwhile his father Jagdish dies of the shock of disgrace by going to trial in court against his brother.    The suspicious character of Birdichand reveals worsening moral values under the garb of highly institutional status. He makes all his conspiracy to unclothe Diwakar to cover the sins that he has made by committing vulgar activities to abduct Jaisel and her companion. 

The characterization in the narrative is simple and unique in the sense it is an Indian scenario and especially in Rajasthan. The dialogues are much closer to the setting of this narrative. Some of the expressions are translated into the finer thread. 

The basic thread in the story runs side by side with the effects of the stars on the human mind and their ways to dominate them at a higher level. The protagonist of the novel, Diwakar is a man of pragmatic nature who believes in his deeds rather than the prophecy of the soothsayer. Instead of going after the astrological predictions, he prefers to garner enough courage to fight adverse circumstances.

Diwakar is a man of high moral standards. He does not feel ashamed of accepting what happens in the case of the girl, Lichhma. He bears all adversities with fortitude and his sound character.

The narrative underlines the dignity of labour against the exploitation by the so-called Directors. The language and diction used in this narrative are simple yet offer a highly psychological dissection of the character. The whole story is interconnected with each of the chapters. As a novel, it is pure and simple. It is the picture of manners exhibiting the characters through which the whole philosophy of life is revealed. Here I would like to congratulate Dinesh Upadhyay for his brilliant debut.©

FOREWORD TO ACROSS THE BORDER By M. A. Rathore

Across the Border Translated by Rajni Chhabra is a collection of more than half a century of the poets of repute in Rajasthani poetry as well as those budding poets who are writing poetry with passion and have maintained the purity of the Rajasthani culture. While reading this anthology, I have found that there is a serene atmosphere of Rajasthani folk culture. Through the eyes of the translator, I have noted the real essence of poetry and I accept that there is no bar of language for true poetry. Poetry itself takes its form and language in which it is written. In this collection, the real work of original translation is just like the rebirth of the poetry originally felt by the native poets. Rajni Chhabra is not a new name in the world of English translation. Besides being a poet herself, she has a bulk of experience in writing in more than one language and has authored a number of books, not only on poetry but Numerology and other motivational genres too.

In this book, the reader can find the fragrance of soil, the countryside, life of the modern world and cultural and historical background of the thoughts of the poets included in it. This collection includes the most vibrant personalities of Rajasthani poets whose introduction has no need for words. The number of poets who write in Rajasthani are also a part of the language movement for the Constitutional recognition of Rajasthani language. Though Rajasthani culture is not far from Indian culture, yet a number of social and burning issues have been put forward by the poets that constitute a micro world within itself. Most of the poets are rooted in the essence of Rajasthani culture. They think and they work diligently; they feel like a universal entity. They muse over a number of local issues. They are progressing in every field, but their feet are touching the ground. To write about these famous signatures of the present day is to show the light to the Sun.

The first poem I come across has been delineated by Aidan Singh Bhati, who feels worried about the disintegration of age-long values and the means our forefathers used to make our houses pious with mud and cow-dung. The streets are choked with smoke. The fragrance of clouds, butterflies and flowers is absent. A woman in front of his eyes appeared and a footpath stretched itself. In his poem, the diligent figure of a common woman is found plucking shoots of millet in the fields and doing other household works.

In the poem Craftsmanship, Raju Bijarania writes the true feeling of mother as she is busy from dawn to dusk mending the home torn into pieces while we can see the farmer working throughout scorching day of June, Ramswarup Kissan observes his spouse with a line of perspiration due to the excessive work in the field. He deems her solo bearer who holds all the responsibility and loads of family; the man actually does nothing except doing some petty jobs. He calls himself a useless ox who is not working, but composing a few verses even though he is awake, but in sleep she is pushing the cart.

Reena Menaria imposes a strong question of the identity of a girl who refuses to get married and perform wedding rituals; the wedding procession has to return without a bride. This is not the question of marriage and the denial of marriage, but the question of decision taken by a daughter. We can see the dark side of the bullied society where the bridegroom has to be unhorsed due to the discrimination of old aged casteism. B. L. Paras underlines the fact that besides being modern as we are; the casteism is still prevalent in the society that is more dangerous than the mania of Kim Jong of North Korea who can cause a deadly destruction within a second. He finds the discrimination made by the higher caste taboos who think they are made impure merely of the touch of the lower caste people. He makes it clear and feels awkward when he finds himself not able to get the love of a higher class lady because of the discrimination, though he loves her immensely.

The theme of a daughter is high-lightened by the poets such as Arjun Dev Charan, The daughter is instructed to orient the rules of society. She is enthusiastic to do something outstanding at school and home, but her feelings have been curtailed. She owns a pair of eyes, but they are devoid of dreams; she possesses lips but it is not to speak; she possesses hands to spread in front of others; she has feet but she spends her whole life as handicapped. Poet Charan claims that daughter opens the door of home; path for coming generations; probabilities of future but never opens the doors of her heart. Sapna Verma delicately portrays women in the poem, ‘Grass and Woman’ A woman is like grass /Swaying and waving/ Delicate and soft/ Always keeps sticking/To roots. In spite of being cut many times, she keeps sticking to roots. She has the capacity of flourishing into a tree. She takes pride in being grass that turns the whole earth into greenery.

We can observe the true feelings of a fond father in Atul Kanak’s poems for the dear daughters. He trains her daughter in swimming and now she wants to comprehend the exhalation of rivers when they mingle into the sea. He describes her daughter who used to sleep till late even after sunrise; covering her face with a sheet of dreams, but now she gives priority to her official duty to cherish her life. The poet worries about whether she can take out some time to sing or not. Poetess Ila Pareek feels it her moral obligation to scribble about the injustice  faced by females in every stage of life. The burning issue of foeticide of baby girls is put forward. While the baby is in the womb, an atmosphere of death dominates the scene. She is instructed by her pen to lay down the pathos of this unborn daughter. She paints the whole life of Lachami in a picturesque manner that imprints the struggle of an Indian woman. 

Neelam Pareek puts the question of the identity of daughter in the poem, ‘Where is my Sky? She states, ‘Birds fly freely/ in the vast sky/ If I am a bird/ Where is my/ Share of the sky?

The rural setting of mother removing thick layer of cream from curd, beckoning children to come and sit in her lap, for relishing butter, shown pictorially in the poems of Inder Singh Rajpurohit is noteworthy. In the poems of Deendayal Sharma, we find a lot of exposure of the feelings of children who always have a question. That is why people usually avoid conversing with them. They never tie a knot of hatred like we elders do on petty issues without any reason.Dinesh Charan urges to save humanity rather than showing concern about environment sitting in air-conditioned rooms; while in the poem of Basanti Panwar, honesty commits suicide and war leaves so many questions behind. The poems of Neeraj Daiya are infused with the feelings of sand, sand-dunes, deer without which the description of Rajasthani poetry is incomplete.

Love is the universal theme in poetry and we can relish it in the poems of Om Purohit ‘Kagad’, Jayshree Kanwar, Sanghmitra Rathore, Madhu Acharya, Nand Bhardwaj, Ravi Purohit and Sanwar Daiya. Jayshree tries to awaken the feeling of true love through her poem, Mahender Moomal. In Sanghmitra’s  poem, You –you and You, she finds- In love of Dhola-Maru/ I view you in/ Blood- smeared arrows/ I view you in / Blossoms at my abode.

 It is not easy to mention all the names of all the great gems of Rajasthani poetry in one glimpse, but I would like to conclude my view by taking the example of poetic creation in the poems of Jitender Soni who truly feels the pain of composing poetry just like the pain of giving birth to a child. 

Rajni Chhabra has marked a niche in literary corridors, especially in multi-lingual translation works. I would like to congratulate all the participants whose poems have been included in this collection.©2022

Sky Is the Limit: The Poetry of Hope and Awareness (Preview) by M. A. Rathore

'The Sky is Limit' by Rajni Chhabra is a landmark Anthology of Rajasthani Poems, translated by her into English, tinged with the placid beauty of diction and wordsmithery. The book is rounded out by many budding as well as the famous signatures of Rajasthani Poetry.

Many people feel a strong urge to write and a considerable proportion of them have a desire to express their thoughts and feelings through the powerful, often emotive medium of poetry. The poetry she published in the past couple of years is pleasingly diverse, recognizable, and has a unifying style. The poems in this new book engage in various formal and thematic experiments and yet the works embody the same spirit and sing with the same voice.

She tends to reach peak intensity in larger works that afford her the space to stretch out, gather momentum and amplify resonance. In an era when there is a great temptation to offer consoling sentiments, she dares to diffuse the taste of Rajasthani literature into its English translation.  

The beautifully crafted poems seem like mini-histories, intricate narratives. The overflow with richness and opportunities for interpretation shifts between Rajasthani and English.

This collection practically embodies the phrase 'breath of fresh air.' It comes in the widespread enthusiasm after Corona. Her lines are clear and conversational and happen to detect an immediate and uncanny resemblance to a great poet. Before proceeding ahead it is worth mentioning that English is the target language and it is not easy to dub each word into another language because the meanings and phrases are different in the two languages yet the poetess has employed her talent and has come up with great success.

 Abhilasha Pareek, in her poem, ‘Summer Vacations’ recalls the days spent with maternal grandma and when summer days were considered a time of unbound joys; relishing all that they could get under her blessing. In the countryside, it was all managed for the grandchildren to make available all the eatables so that children might enjoy their merry time. Due to the hot weather, it was indispensable to sprinkle water in the evening before going to bed to quench fiery flames all around; though water scarcity is felt merely a mirage to the forlorn earth; sweating whole of the villagers even if some of have ACs. She states:

Sprinkling water on the hot terrace

Cooling down beddings

Sound of the flash of light

Beholding stars in the midnight

Sound of barking of dogs

Fresh morning breeze and wee hours

Where have these vanished?

 In the poem of Anita Vipula, we find a voice struggling for her identity as a human being. Though the woman is considered a toy to play with and with her emotions always; making her a pet or at times, telling that she is a goddess, but still she has not been given the right place to be a real human being. Even society teaches her to be submissive rather than putting a question against the rules of society. Here the revolutionary spirit in the poetess wages a war against society and roars thus:

Society has changed a lot

But, can I survive in it?

Can enjoy my real life

Can breathe heartily

Today, I have assumed

My responsibility

I know my potentialities

I am not a burden on anyone

Listen!

I am not a plaything.

Poetess, Anju's refreshing poetry brings out the essence of poetry. She describes her mother that she seems to be smiling always though she is amid the hard labour of farm activities. With her short style, she attracts the attention of the readers when she tells us about the scarecrow who is confused and tries to speak in a weird language whether he should like new human beings or old ones. She compares the stages of life with the varieties of ornamental feathers of the peacock symbolize the three stages of life.

Crest beautifying

Forehead of peacock

Is symbolic of

Childhood

Full of comforts

Colourful enchanting feathers

Symbolize rainbow-colored youth

And grey paws

Are indicative of

Helpless old age.

In her poem Sparrow, Ankita Kagadansh gives wings to her mind and catches the thought of flight which is dependent much more on guts than knowing how to fly. Her simple yet powerful words reveal the fact of the flight of imagination and the real cause and vision behind it. She is the replica of her mother. She feels her mother strongly in her habits and nature and she resembles her mother in bodily features as well as with her soul which genetically approved her in the following lines:

I am well-versed with

As many songs

As my mother knew

I catch a cold exactly

As my mother used to

I, too, have headaches

Just as she is used to

My heels ache exactly

Like her aching feet

I take a meal only after

Serving meals to others

As was her routine

Maa!

When did you

Settle in me

Ditto.

 Bharati Purohit in her powerful sentiments for her father knits the garland of memories after her father departed from the material world, yet entangled in a whirlpool of heart, she has buried unshared, complicated memories reigning in her mind. The name of the father is as great as the sky above and the child feels boosted with high valour. Bharati has curated an expansive poetic and spiritual conversation, one that unfolds not in generalizations but in concrete points of reference within this richly populated spiritual conversation, she feels at points like she is whispering directly into the ear of the readers, filling up a cup inside her that we don't realize is empty. She expresses her deep sorrows thus:

Now, devoid of him

Home has turned into house

Words had very existence in father

Words are silent after his departure

After his ultimate departure

Innumerable books have

Lost their interpretation

 After so many restrictions and bondages, Bharati realizes her inner spirit as a woman power within her and proclaims that she has to peep through a lot of indulgences in self-introspection otherwise she can break the cage and fly high creating a space for her real identity and a human being.

In the poem Bugacho, the poetess Kamana Rajawat reminds an old cloth bag that her Grandma used to keep with her, and later her mother kept it with care then comes the turn of the poetess to have a sight and felt relaxed. She underlines the fact that a woman has to remain occupied in her household duties to perform than to find out her dreams:

Perhaps, we females

Try to search for ourselves

In our unaccomplished dreams

That we have forgotten

In complicacies of household

 I find a fiery spirit in the poems of Krishna Acharya for the modern way of life. She does not want to follow the tattered religious faiths but tries to rise above the pseudo-beliefs. Even though she does not like the string of beads given by her mother but wears them to make her mother happy. It does not mean that she does not believe in God. In the necklace she finds her deep faith infused in it as the powerful memory of her mother. She feels emotive when she describes the modern children going to school with enthusiasm and being busy finding out the modern implications of education than just following the traditional faiths. In her poem, I am A Tree; she declares that she apprehends herself as the embodiment of a tree:

I am a tree that has stuck

To the affection-brimmed bosom of the earth

Sipping nectar from it

I have entrusted my whole life

To creatures and cattle dwelling in it

For livelihood and survival

 In the poems of Krishna Kumari, we find a cry for the woman. She remains busy with domestic chores accomplishing several duties from dawn to midnight without any grudge yet gets a rare chance to think about her though being exhausted after a day's labour. She has no problem in doing all such jobs but whenever the question of the identity of a woman comes up, she cannot help saying that human relations are strange. This is the universal question of feminist identity. She gives many good instances that prove her thoughts about womanhood. She is worried about the life of the woman in a man's life. She wants to live in a carefree abode where nobody dwells in the deserted forest. They are being under domestic violence and even murdered for dowry. Her inner heart is revealed thus:

They don't have to bother about marriage

Neither botheration of moving to in-laws

Nor they are supposed to put on veils

Nor are they scared of getting burnt alive

In the fierce flames of dowry

Dare any husband to treat them as foot-wear

Will be kicked to fall headlong

 

But this poor woman?

What to describe? O! God

O! This world

This world of males

What can I say?

What can I say?

You ponder over this

You know better.

Manisha Arya Soni mentions the priorities of her mother, who is going to be admitted to the operation theatre, thinking about the daily duties she used to perform rather than thinking about her ailment. She instructs the other members of her family to take care of milk in the fridge, set curd from milk, put water in the plant of Tulsi, feed to the sparrows, giving roti to cows and dogs timely. She emphasizes the importance of women thus:

This is the meaning of

Sanctity of domesticity of a woman

A woman who is engaged in

Making home better than the temple

Cannot go on her ultimate journey easily

Not feel attached to

Her jewelry and costumes

She stuck again

And diverts herself

In taking utter care of her home

Gets occupied in utilizing left-over cereals

Her vision gets struck on the calendar

Meenakshi Borana in her poem, Identity of Woman emphasizes the urgency of proclaiming a woman as a woman rather than embodying her as a deity. She requires the dignity of humanity and the embodiment of compassion. She is an ordinary woman longing for a melodious song in praise of her mother. Her heart is brimmed with so many ideas about the maternal home. She oozes herself in the following lines:

When heart is

Full of love for mother

Today, waves of new notes

Are swaying in my throat

Light of affection is

Glowing in my heart

The mother hugs me tightly

In every re-birth on earth

I wish you to be my mother

This is my only longing.

 As a citizen of the world, Meenakshi Pareek aspires for a world with peace and prosperity where birds, as well as human beings, live in union singing the melody of hymns and prayers for the welfare of all the communities regardless of faith and creeds where all the basic facilities are available. 

 Poetess Neelam Pareek imposes the question of the identity of the daughter in the poem, 'Where is my Sky'? She beautifully portrays her feelings; stating to her mother, she urges:

But Maa

Birds fly freely

In vast sky

If I am a bird

Where is my

Share of the sky?

In the poem, 'When did I Ever Forget?’, the poetess never complains about her being alone on dark lonely nights but urges to have the sprouting of love in the corner of her heart. She aptly describes her emotions thus:

In a corner of my heart

A Sapling of hope sprouted

It withered at times

And flourished at times

With a shower of pretentious love

Nurtured, kept on growing into a tree

 

Nirmala Rathore writes about the process of poetry and why she composes poetry is noteworthy for every writer of future potentialities. She states:

When the water of the ocean

Starts swinging in the cores of the heart

The uprising of agony enhances

Then a writer holds his pen

That agony assumes the form of

Cloudlet of the rainy season

And constantly flows

In the form of tears the writer

And settles down on paper

 Sharmila Soni's poem 'Pleading of Unborn Daughter' is the heart-wrenched story of the harsh reality faced by women who get aborted, in the pursuit of satisfying the ego of man's world. It is an emphatic appeal against feticide. In another Poem 'Daughters', she puts stress on the need for a girl child because daughters are the pride of home, fetching names and fame around the world yet. 

The poems of Siya Choudhary are inspirational, infused with a note where a mother teaches her daughter to fly high in the vast sky so that nobody is going to check her doing so. 

Here are nearly 75 poems in this beautiful anthology, covering established as well as emerging poetesses who are moving with firm steps on the literary corridors. If you read cover to cover (a great way to feel these deep in your marrow) you get, at first, a sense that several issues of identity of the woman are sought. Congratulations and best wishes to all the poetesses for this poetic bunch which will gain popularity among worthy readers. For this anthology, Rajni Chhabra deserves special appreciation because she has presented the true feelings of womanhood in the poems of Rajasthani culture.©