PUNJABI REVIEW
Punjabi poetry going mystic
Sidhu Damdami

Devi
by Sarod Sudip.
Ravi Sahit Parkashan, Amritsar.
Pages 88. Rs 100.

WITH Sarod Sudip’s Devi, Punjabi poetry seems returning to mysticism—the rootstock of Punjabi ethos—after a long gap.

At the beginning of the modern era of Punjabi literature the stream of mystic poetry that had come flowing down from Sufi fakirs and Sikh saints was nurtured by Bhai Vir Singh and Prof. Puran Singh. Whereas Bhai Vir Singh’s inspiration mostly came from Sikhism and nature, Prof. Puran Singh’s poetic journeys mapped Punjabi ethos and comparative space of religion. Being well versed in Sikhism, Vedanta and Buddhism, Prof. Puran Singh not only gave new tinge and echo to Punjabi mystic poetry but also introduced blank verse in it.

Later, due to the enveloping influence of Marxism on Punjabi literature, mysticism almost remained a tabooed subject for Punjabi poets. That’s why one does not find any Punjabi writer turning mystic in his writing till the ninth decade of the last century but for the two poets, Pritam Singh Safeer and Dr Jaswant Singh Neki.

The Marxist and Naxalite influence on the Punjabi creative world waned in the late 70s of the last century. But close on its heels came terrorism in Punjab that introduced the most anti-creativity span in the contemporary history of Punjabi literature. No sooner did the peace return to Punjab in the early 90s, the suppressed creativity of Punjabi writers was unleashed with a bang. Perhaps it was for the first time that the modern Punjabi writers tasted full freedom to express as both the stiff-lipped Marxist critics and menacing religious bigots were off their back. Experiencing lightness of the creativity, they picked up and treated the subjects at their will shattering all taboos. During this creative frenzy, mysticism also made a come back to Punjabi poetry, but via the Sambogh se smadhi tak route propounded by Osho.

In this literary setting Devi, the new collection of poetry by Sarod Sudeep, a poet of his own kind and standing, came as a fresh whiff of air. Sometime back he started on an inner pilgrimage to deal with his very personal pain. A decision in a court case about the trouble in his daughter’s marriage torn him from his granddaughter Devi that left him emotionally devastated. That triggered the creative button in him to reinterpret Nature, human relations, pain, bliss, death and ironies of life in celestial perspective, using contemporary metaphors and images. He says, "I found the path of my inner pilgrimage punctuated by mystic messages, which were, in fact, revealed to me as poems."

Like ‘New Age Music’ in West, these poems emerge as an oasis of tranquillity in Punjabi’s contemporary literary space replete with writings on sexual relationships, cultural nostalgia and social conflicts. Not only in form and style, they have also made a departure from the traditional mystic Punjabi poetry by adopting the poet’s relationship with his granddaughter as a medium for divine revelations instead of proverbial routes. Even otherwise, these are the first-ever poems in Punjabi written about an innocent but intense relationship between a granddaughter and a grandfather (nana):

The power of Devi lies in turning ordinary experiences of life into intense insights into the beyond, with only a few touches of Sudeep’s poetic brush doused in light colours:

And remain connected with God.

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