Skip to main content

Train of thoughts in Sanjiv Bhatla’s poems moves at an enormous velocity

By Moin Qazi*
“The poetry of earth is never dead” – John Keats
“Looking Back” is Sanjiv Bhatla’s maiden collection of poems. He has several authoritative and scholarly works on religious and spiritual subjects also to his credit. His poems are equally brilliant and bear out the finer sensibilities in him. His anthology was originally published by Orient Longman (now Orient Black Swan).It has now been brought in its new avatar by Crabwise Press. There are minor changes in the edition but the original flavor remains the same. In his brief but pithy introduction, Nissim Ezekiel describes Bhatla as a poet of “great promise ‘and is able to spot the subtle flashes of brilliance that only a great poet like him can decipher in the work of an emerging poet. He writes “…Lovers of serious and difficult poetry have much to brood over when they confront the subtle characters who appear in this book…they remain convincingly human in Sanjiv’s perception of them. He is not their Creator but their Companion, exemplary in his sympathy, even if mildly ironic…”
In ‘My Country Friend And I On A Train Journey’ we have the typical tale of the milkman portrayed with dry irony and wry humor. The ’Café Intellectual’ is a typical satire written in the poet’s characteristic style. Most poems of Bhatla are not fully evolved, using pregnant phrases, revealing partial truths but hinting at possibilities as thoughts are tossed about to germinate and sprout.
Bhatla’s clear-eyed attention and his sensitive mind bring each subject starkly into focus. The economy of words and clarity combined with deft phrasing, grace and wit create an immediacy that is surreal. For instance,
“Life here bustles with activity/ Busy men rushing about everywhere/ in passages and undergrounds; traffic/ tantrums in the sun”
Poetry has been one of the most ancient creative channels for man. With the birth of writing came the efflorescence of poetry. It became the vehicle of expression for all great men, philosophers, saints, savants and even kings.
Like in the case of most modern poets, Bhatla’s poetry is impatient with tradition, unwilling to tolerate any form of binding or control. Bhatla keeps innovating and therefore sheds conventions, abandons set forms, and is always ready to redefine paradigms. The poems demonstrate that in a world being rendered almost totally comprehensible, it is poetry which surprises us by its discoveries, its ever-lively sense of mystery of the universe, its attempt to restore the mysterious, to rehabilitate the sacred and to reiterate the abiding reverence for all life. Just sample this verse to get a peek into Bhatla’s craftsmanship:
“A cat now gapes, sitting/ atop a junked car-hulk lying/ in the backyard of a haunted/ house. Now I find it/ easier/ to develop a logic above pride”
Bhatla casts away the floridity of colonial Indian English verse and uses naturalized language to describe the colours, the heat, the skies, the light, the animals, the surroundings and the crowds in the Indian situation, and breathes Indianness in every poem. He handles complicated and messy subjects with a strong sense of formal order and emotional restraint. We can find meaning and vitality in the verse, “how personal dilemmas can so easily imply/human misery over a cup of coffee?” and “some unformed poem ceaselessly/turning in a poet’s mind, heedless/of the poet’s imploration, netting facts”.
Bhatla’s is a style (and temperament) that is understated, seeking to understand and learn, rather than preach. This is the mark of the liberal, and also perhaps of the poet. The liberal is attentive to the waywardness of social life; the poet, to the incongruities he can spot in human characters. There is an appealing hesitancy to the poems of Bhatla, which comes from a desire to interpret rather than judge.
“Outside, there stood a demon/ Stooping, raking a fire/ That glittered in his big eyes/ Just above the windowsill”
Bhatla’s bold attempt to pursue poetry may come as a strong riposte to those who believe “Poetry is dead, long live poetry!” All these critics miss the broader point. Poetry can’t meet its demise, any more than air or water can die, because poetry in the more expansive sense is not “poetry” in the narrow. Poetry is currency; it is permeative; and it is, thankfully, too big to die. By meaning that poetry is permeative, I would like to emphases that the poetic alchemy of Bhatla is always synthesizing: trying to relate each subject of observation to some other force, phenomenon, or abstract — to find the links between self and community, past and present, inspiration and its source.
One needs to immerse in Bhatla’s poems with great seriousness because the train of thoughts moves at an enormous velocity. Those who are familiar with Bhatla’s prose understand the intense philosophical vigour that permeates Bhatla’s writings. Professor Alastair Niven, who was then the Editor of Journal of Commonwealth Literature (in the late 1980s), wrote about this book: “I am happy to have encountered Sanjiv Bhatla’s immediate and often very touching poems: a series of gentle yet vivid vignettes.”

*Development expert

Comments

TRENDING

Abrogation of Art 370: Increasing alienation, relentless repression, simmering conflict

One year after the abrogation by the Central Government of Art. 370 in Kashmir, what is the situation in the Valley. Have the promises of peace, normalcy and development been realised? What is the current status in the Valley? Here is a detailed note by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties , “Jammu & Kashmir: One Year after Abrogation of Art. 370: Increasing Alienation, Relentless Repression, Simmering Conflict”:

Repeated failure to appoint Chief, other commissioners undermining RTI Act

By Anjali Bhardwaj, Amrita Johri* The post of the Chief Information Commissioner of the Central Information Commission (CIC) has fallen vacant with the retirement of Bimal Julka with effect from August 27, 2020. This is the fifth time in the last six years that the Commission has been rendered headless. Four posts of information commissioners are also vacant in the CIC. Currently more than 35,000 appeals and complaints are pending in the commission resulting in citizens having to wait for months, even years for their cases to be disposed, thereby frustrating peoples’ right to know. Since May 2014, not a single commissioner of the CIC has been appointed without citizens having to approach courts. The failure of the government to make timely appointments of commissioners is a flagrant violation of the directions of the Supreme Court. In its February 2019 judgment, the apex court had categorically stated that if the CIC does not have a Chief Information Commissioner or required strength

Panchayat funds defrauded: Roads without potholes a fundamental right but not here

Kirity Roy, Secretary Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), and National Convenor (PACTI) Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity, writes to the chairman, National Human Rights Commission: *** Through this complaint, I want to draw your attention to the plight of the villagers of Nawdapara in the District of North 24 Parganas. The village is situated under the Bagdah Police Station, Bagdah Block and Mama Bhagina Post Office respectively. Nawdapara is a Muslim minority populated village. Indo Bangladesh Border Road (IBBR) passes through the middle of the village. There is a naka checking post of the BSF inside the village and BSF associated with Mama Bhagina Border Out Post, 68 Battalion, ‘B’ Company guard 24 hours in that check post. People have lived in this village since the independence of India. The market is about three to four kilometres away from Nawdapara village. One primary school is situated within the village but the high school is about five to six kilo

Ultimate champion in crisis, arguably best ever skipper: Created history in Aussie cricket

By Harsh Thakor  In the history of cricket few cricketers knit and propelled a cricket team or had such profound influence on the game as Ian Chappell. Ian Chappell was responsible for converting a bunch of talented individuals into a world beating side, giving a dramatic turn to Australian cricket. Few cricketers ever led such a renaissance.

BSF's unconstitutional, whimsical order violates life, livelihood of Dalits, minorities

Kirity Roy, Secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), writes to the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission: *** I want to attract your attention towards the illegitimate restrictions on the life and livelihood of the villagers of Paschim Sahebganj village under Dinhata - II Block and Sahebganj police station in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal by the Border Security Force personnel attached with Dharala Border Out Post under 138 Battalion BSF. The population of Paschim Sahebganj village is around 1480, where almost 75 percent of the villagers belong from Hindu Scheduled Caste (Dalit) and 25 percent from minority Muslim backgrounds.The main occupation of the villagers is agriculture. About 260 acres of cultivable land in the village that belongs to the villagers is located outside the border fencing, which is heavily guarded by the Border Security Force (BSF). The BSF regulates the ingress and egress of the villagers to their fields through the fencing gates that a

Largest democracy in world has become weakest at hands of fascist Hindutva forces

Note on “The Nazification of India”, a report released By Justice For All: *** This report, the Nazification of India, compares how Hindutva ideology not only is inspired by Nazis and Fascists of Europe, but their treatment of the Muslim minority closely follows developments that resulted in pushing Jews to the gas chambers. Situation is indeed quite alarming. The report says that the largest democracy in the world has become the weakest at the hands of the fascist Hindutva ideology. India today is ruled not just by a political party the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but its mother organization the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Because the BJP’s government policies are linked to extra-legal enforcement by RSS paramilitary street power, this report has coined the term “The BJP-RSS regime” to reflect their intrinsic links and collaborative relationship. The Nazification of India report marks the anniversary of the Gujarat pogroms of 2002 against Muslims which propelled the BJP-RSS

Varanasi social worker who has devoted her life for the ultra-poor and the marginalized

Passion Vista and its partners profile Founder and Managing Trustee Shruti Nagvanshi as  someone whom women leaders look up to: *** Shruti Nagvanshi, a social worker and human rights activist based in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, has devoted her life to reaching out to the ultra-poor and marginalized communities in India. Born in Dashashwmedh, Varanasi on 2 January 1974, she married Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi on 22 February 1992 and has a son, Kabeer Karunik, a Business management Graduate who is also a national level snooker player.

An approach to lake/pond restoration by Ramveer Tanvar, Pond Man of India

By Monami Bhattacharya*, Mansee Bal Bhargava**  Lakes/ ponds are often referred to as an elixir of life, a living ecosystem that adds incremental value to the larger biota. Across the tropical landscape of the country lakes/ ponds are a common sight. Lakes/ponds have always shaped the life and livelihood of those dwelling in and around it. The dependence of the local population on these natural resources of water is noticeable since time immemorial. However, they are fading fast in both rural and urbanscapes from the popular parlance with the advance of humanity. It has been a popular notion to value land more than the waterscape and hence these nurturers of life are under stress in several areas. In many instances, these once beautiful waterscapes referred as the ‘Eye of the Earth’ are mostly now only dilapidated garbage dump yards emitting foul smell with no sign of a healthy ecosystem.

Urban crisis: Impact of erosion of democratic framework on Indian cities

By IMPRI Team  On 13th February, 2023, IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi in collaboration with ActionAid Association India arranged a book launch followed by lecture series under the title “India’s G20 Presidency & the Urban Agenda for the Developing Countries”. The event was held in Indian International Centre (IIC) Annex, New Delhi. The event began with the book inauguration session, under the honorary presence of Mr Sitaram Yechury, former Rajya Sabha member and General Secretary, CPI (M), accompanied by Mr Sandeep Chachra, executive director, ActionAid Association India. Session 1 | Book Launch: ‘Cities in Transition’ by Mr Tikender Singh Panwar The book launched was “Cities in Transition”, written by Mr Tikender Singh Panwar, former Deputy Mayor, Shimla and a Senior Fellow at IMPRI. Beginning with brief remarks on his book, Mr Panwar outlined the basic subject matter and the purpose behind writing the book, which he considers as a by-product of his experien

Why rapid transition to green energy should be people-centric and community-led

Synthesis Report of IPCC AR6 is a warning call: Grounded action needed to ensure social and ecological justice: ActionAid Association note: *** The Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report is a warning call for action on the quickly closing opportunity of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees centigrade. Unless fossil fuels are rapidly retired, the impacts of climate change already faced by vulnerable communities will become difficult to handle. The IPCC report also highlights that we have the renewable energy technology, policy tools, and financial capital required for a just transition; however, “both adaptation and mitigation financing would need to increase many-fold”. The loss and damage caused by heat waves, crop failures, and rising sea levels suffered by majorities of India’s working peoples are already significant and uncompensated. News reports tell us that due to heat, India already loses around 101 billion hours yearly. E