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You Say it’s not True THIS book, an anthology of 47 short poems, derives its title You Say it’s not True from a poem with the identical name. The book deals with a variety of themes as diverse as Mumbai, night, love, friends, marriage, prayers, and so on.
There are two poems on Mumbai. Mugged in Mumbai deals with a simpleton having been cheated of Rs 500, whereas Bombay Bleeds refers to bullets, killings and brutalities, suggesting "`85a fortress around `85 from sky to ground". The poet turns philosophical in his octave, Gateway to the Night, wherein he describes the "night" brighter than the day, when moon reigns supreme in the company of glittering stars in the sky. Holding the poet "in her tight embrace", the night is apparently carrying the poet "on my way" into the oblivion. Two other poems, Towards Night and The Night comprehend "softness of moon" and "need to wander here and there", whereas Night & Day symbolises the day receding into the night, with the gleaming moon silencing the "cackling birds" and pausing "fishing boats". Watching the fading darkness in Night’s Touch, the poet turns buoyant about the "growing day" replacing the vanishing night. The shortest poem in the book, Prayers, a six-liner sestet, exposes the materialistic, non-concentrating mind of a modern man offering prayers in the temple but thinking of his shoes outside instead, finding fault with God not being able to protect things even in his immediate vicinity. The poet paints his sister as gentle, kind, his only kith and a Gibraltar in For my Little Sister, without whom he feels like being in a "loony bin". Another poem, The Little Girl, also revolves around a little girl and her brother who "invariably steals the show" by excelling in sports and doing her homework like a whiz. In Love, the poet describes love as a game of chess, a pest, and "too much stress", whereas You highlights the intensity of a boy’s love for his beloved when he declares that he wants "just her" even if she may not be as electric, hot or lovely as others. The poet appears radical
in his approach; he refused to even inherit the legal profession from
his father and rather chose to tread his own literary path. The
Burden of Genes truly epitomises the life and style of the poet.
Though the poet has succeeded in scripting a powerful beginning in the
realm of poetry, he would stay afloat for a long time only if he
desists from attempting unnecessary rhymes, by imbibing spontaneity in
his expression.
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The
poet does not appear to be traditional while weaving his verses, but
tends to rather meander away from the set principles of poetic
contours. None of his five sonnets are either Shakespearean or
Petrarchan in style or format. Further, both his nine-liner Spenserian
verses and all his five octaves breach the dictum of conventional
Elizabethan poetic norms. Interestingly, his longest poem, a 78-liner,
has been christened as Shorts. A seven-liner, Carbon
Footprint, is thematic, which revolves around the malaise of
global warming and the Western hypocrisy about the seriousness of the
problem.