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SHORT TAKES
Marching towards peace
Thus, after the departure of colonial rulers from South Asia and formation of nation states, terrorism began to make its presence felt in India’s northeastern states and Kashmir. Later on Punjab and, now, the entire country, is facing it in one form or another. Other countries in similar situation are Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In this volume various thinkers have pinpointed communalism, maladministration political intrigue, ethnic and socio-economic divides as causal factors. And, since this discourse reflects leftist worldview, the villain of the piece has to be capitalism with the United States as arch-villain. Interestingly, the Maoist brand of terrorists — PWG, Naxalites etc — has not been factored in as threat to peace. This book also contains articles on promoting Indo-Pak peace, but, in today’s context, it would be like lighting candles in a raging storm.
Thoroughfare: A Book
of ghazals
Ghazal, as we know, is the very essence of Urdu poetry that reflects a specific culture and its mores. It blossoms in an ambience that no western metaphor can recreate. Yet Singh has ventured to marry delicate oriental responsiveness with pithy occidental sensibility. Interestingly, while English verse is moving away from formal structures, the poet has resorted to a rigidly formal poetic form. Perhaps these lines from his ghazal number 12 best reflect his mood, "Now I’ve no fear or shame of what they would say; / I’m fully free from compulsions and formal demeanor". Now all we need is someone who can sing it.
John Keats describes long poem as "a test of invention which I take to be the Polar star of poetry, as fancy is the sails, and imagination the rudder." Not many succeed in coming up with a readable composition. However, since the subject happens to be girl-child one feels tempted to read the title poem of this collection of 12 poems. It throbs with a strange cadence — a mix of pathos and defiance — that satirizes societal hypocrisy. The girl-child states a reality thus, "I escape rude onslaughts/I face fatal attacks/But somehow I survive/ Months nine in the womb"; but she is optimistic, "Flexible is the social nose/You only need to mould it/The new is always accepted/Only the beginner is required". Rest of the poems, too, are readable.
Tibet has been hitting media headlines ever since Beijing was chosen for staging the 2008 Olympic Games; books on Tibet’s plight are a natural fallout. This quickie deals with several aspects of the Tibet problem, including its history, geography, sociology, geo-politics etc. But, unfortunately it does not measure up to one’s expectations. For example, on page three, under the sub-heading Frontiers of Tibet, the countries enumerated are Kazakhstan and Mongolia! Similarly, under the photograph on page 256, we are urged to go to Chapter 12 for details of America’s "negative" role vis-`E0-vis Russia and China’s "foul" actions in Tibet. The "details" prove to be measly, uninformative and perfunctory. This book, rich in rhetoric, sounds more like a propaganda pamphlet than a dispassionate, systematic and impartial study of history. One expects better from someone who claims to be a prolific award-winning author.
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Imperiled
peace has become a hot topic among South Asia’s eggheads. As this
volume points out, the entire region has fallen prey to variegated
conflict situations caused by different factors — ethnic, religious,
ideological and socio-economic. However, the spectre of ever-lengthening
shadows of terrorism has overshadowed other forms of conflicts. Although
terrorism is as old as history, its modern form is a reaction to
propagation of secular ideologies and nationalism in 18th and
19th centuries.
English
poetry, like the language, appears to be undergoing changes to suit the
cultures that have adopted it. Thus, along with local flavors enchorial
forms, too, are being introduced into the genre. But only a braveheart
would dare to write ghazals in English.
The
Unsung Goddess
The
Tragedy of Tibet