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My Own Khajuraho In order to be a poet, say literary pundits, one must fall in love with words. Rajbir Deswal's My Own Khajuraho amply testifies to his infatuation with words. As to how a supercop, presently Inspector General of Haryana Police, whose calling is solving riddles mired in crime, is able to maintain equanimity while managing the opposite poles of poetry and policing remains an enigma.
The present compilation brings out the poet's passion for life and things around him. Deswal has the curiosity of a child and the expression of a seasoned craftsman. An observant eye defamilarises commonplace experience with the help of rich imagery couched in an equally rich vocabulary. Look for instance at the poet's Khajuraho which lies in "scattered wayside stones,'the unchisell's, unfurrow'd and ungroov'd'! Similarly, 'The sun rises the same way, so does the moon' but some days make times momentous 'Nestling in deepest niches of heart'. A number of poems depict various moods and manifestations of nature. In his poem Song of Promise, Deswal's humanist sympathy extends to autumnal leaves forced to suffer separation from the tree, though in 'falling down, they find a fulfillment'. The pace of the poem quickens where the wind makes the new pods "twist and twitter/ To whirl, twirl, spin and reel/ Clink and tinkle/ As if to do some chatter." In the poem Natural Look, however, Deswal's humorous impulse comes to the fore when he accuses nature of 'exploiting her intellectual property/ Without being challenged or sued/ It copies a butterfly/ To bring out a twin-leaf;/ Sometimes a human face in a rock/ Or a dog-face in a flower'! Another hilarious-though-accomplished piece captioned His Master's Choice is based upon a real fight over the ownership of a dog.'. Other themes touched are transience and eternity, pain and placidity, roots and relationships. On the whole, Deswal emerges as a committed optimist. Even the drain bringing the muddy water of Shivalik Hills becomes 'reformed rhyme'. Style-wise, it must be said that Deswal has an ear for the sound of words which he brings together in free verse even as he yields at places to the music of rhyme and alliteration. The impact of Romantic poets, particularly Wordsworth and Keats is discernible.
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My Own Khajuraho, aptly
sub-titled One-hundred Poetic Vignettes is Deswal's second verse
book, the first being Hoor Menaka, which was verse rendering in
English of the famous folk poet Lakhmi Chand's saang of the same
name. Deswal's first love has been short humorous essays besides
stories, book reviews and travelogues, hundreds of which have appeared
in leading English newspapers. He has also successfully dabbled in Hindi
and Urdu poetry. Deswal has penned six more books, namely, Wit and
Humour of Haryana, Culture: Bright and Dark, Latke-Jhatke, Taron ke
Jungle, Holypol and Mall Watch.