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WHEN you grow up reading Navkanta Barua, Nilmoni Phukan and the likes as part of your school curriculum, the prospect of reviewing their poetry is indeed, daunting. After all, there is no teacher’s note to guide you through the complex maze of those beautiful minds. Even though D. N. Bezboruah, who has translated and compiled this volume, tries to take your minds off the stature of the poets with a statement, "I have attempted to make it an anthology of what I regard as good Assamese poetry of the period. The focus is thus on poetry than on the poets", his words give you little comfort. `A0 "Of the period" in the collection denotes the second half of the 20th century, which is characterised by personal reflections of the poets with their focus on the shifting trends of modern life, often within urban settings. Though there are romantic imageries, the poetry of this period is without the traditional lyrical form and rhythm. It is both symbolic and realistic, at times displaying a cynicism and dismay at the fast-eroding social values.
Another prominent name in modern Assamese poetry is Hiren Bhattacharya. In These my Words, For Poetry, A Single Prayer, Four Poems, Partaking, Post Script and Sound of the Flute, he universalises his personal experiences in simple words and lyrical form. Nirmalprabha Bordoloi, known for her self-expressive and contemplative poetry, has touched many subjects, from mythical heroines to social issues, but two of her poems, Poignant and Songs of Darkness, show the romantic in her. There are 18 poets altogether, including Nilomoni Phukan, Ajit Barua, Bitrendra Kumar Bhattacharyya, Kesab Mahanta, Hem Barua, Dilip Barua and Harekrishna Deka, who have enriched the contemporary Assamese literature scene with their signature writing style. Translating poetry is a difficult task. Getting into the though process of the poet and retaining the essence of the original in a different language, one not only has to be well-versed with both the languages but the aesthetics part of it, too. Bezbaruah, who taught English and linguistics for over two decades before starting an English daily from Guwahati, is an accomplished translator whose works include English translation of Birendra Nath Bhattacharyya’s novel Mritunjay which won the Jnanpith Award in 1982. Bezbaruah’s selection of
poems, which admittedly he thought "could be translated without
losing much of it in the process of translation", was a smart move.
But more than his strategic planning or language skill, the anthology
scores on the fact that he has been able to retain the emotion in each
poem that he has touched.
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The
anthology starts with Navakanta Barua who is known for giving Assamese
poetry its modern face. His subject varies, but what remains as the
connecting thread for all his poems, Slit, The Eternal Pulse or
Bats, is the inclusion of Nature in abundance. A few others, like
Measurements, Judas and The Lift, show his
longings for the idealism and simplicity of the eras gone by.