Sunday, October 9, 2011

Portraits of Women who Face Life with an Iron Fist by Dr.Aju Arvind and Published in Indian Book Chronicles, September 2011

Aju Mukhopadhaya. The Moments of Life: Short Stories. Mumbai: Frog Books, 2009. Pp. 145. Price: Rs. 195/- ISBN: 978-93-80154-06-0. Short stories are an excuse for Aju Mukhopadhaya to talk of life and relationships entrapped by time and silence. His, The Moments of Life: Short Stories, a compilation of 26 short stories, mostly set in Bengal and southern part of India, presents a picture of everyday life where “each individual relationship has a different hue” (79). The present collection begins with the story which has the same title as the book, recalls the life and experiences of Riki, a member of the suicide squad in Jaffna, who illegally enters Pondicherry. Riki, a victim of circumstances rather than choice, like Sri Aurobindo, realizes the futility of terrorism and turns to spirituality. Riki’s journey makes one realize the need for spiritual revival. The story also depicts the predicament of women like Riki and her sister who were “compelled to join the guerrilla forces” in Sri Lanka (11). The protagonists of his stories, like Gowri and Saheli are victims of various circumstances. While Gowri and her sister Latha in ‘The Phoney,’ is forced into prostitution “just four days after her manjal neer (puberty) ceremony” (41) by their mother, ‘The Cuckold’ tells the story of Saheli, who is forced to love Rangarajan by her spendthrift husband. Aju’s stories deal with the changing definition of values and a newer generation that tries to adopt borrowed ideas and practices, and shows the courage to walk against the established conventions of the day. In most of his stories, he raises the question of women who are forced to lead a life of servitude in the name of “tradition, norms and fear of society” (78). However, most of them succeed in breaking the shackles of tradition and norms. His characters like Lavanya, in ‘An Unknown Love,’ and Arpita, in ‘Discontentment,’ dares to walk against the trodden path. On the one hand we see characters like Lavanya who walks away freely from her husband and family when she rediscovers her love in Ranada, whom she once loved as a brother, and on the other hand we find women character like Arpita, who exhorts: “Try to live by your heart, not by the brain” (114). Most of his stories revolve around the life of the female protagonist, and some of them are so exuberant and diligent than their male counterparts that they win our admiration and adoration. The plot of some of his stories subtly raises questions on the sensitive issues like race, gender, unemployment, and caste. For instance his, ‘In Search of a Suitable Man Friend’ shows Angela, a westerner, who falls in love with a young black Indian customs officer Subramanian, and exposes the “fables about the white races” (15). The story shows the new Indian women who redefines the oriental concepts. While his ‘Dolls Family,’ subtly exposes the longing for the male child. Mukhopadhyay’s, ‘The Emigrant,’ is about the predicaments of the modern educated unemployed Indian middle class youth who is forced to migrate to different places in search of employment. His ‘The Law of Life’ depicts the sufferings of a leprosy patient, Gopalda, who has become an outcaste in the society. The irony of the story is that Gopalda’s joy exceeds all limits when he learns that his wife too has become a leprosy patient, not because he did not love her, but because he could now spend the rest of his life with her. But most of his stories end with a note of optimism and try to reinforce our belief in humanity. His stories like ‘The Passport,’ ‘The Crazy,’ ‘The Absconder’ and ‘The Last Fire’ deal with the theme of death. But they never show death as an end, instead they show act as a catalyst, that enhances and disturbs, the life of other characters. Most of the plots of his stories appear so real that they make one think of his/her own life and surroundings. While stories like, ‘The Cuckold’ and ‘An Unknown Love’ deal with the predicaments of extramarital life, stories like, ‘Caught Like A Thief In The Night,’ and ‘A Marathon Race’ reflect on issues like courting and dating whereas stories like ‘Discontentment’ deal with the theme of broken families. ‘The Pride of a Woman,’ tells the story of Vinita Singh, widow of an Army officer, who spends her life in the memory of her husband. His stories seem to suggest the disintegration of the joint family system as one of the causes for changing relationships. On the one hand the compilation includes highly philosophical stories like ‘The Flame,’ and ‘The White Bird And Its Black Shadow.’ And on the other it experiments with newer ways of storytelling as in ‘Let Them Play For A While.’ It is interesting to note that some of his stories like ‘The Emigrant,’ ‘A Very Happy Journey,’ ‘The Law of Life,’ and ‘The Absconder’ are based on train journeys. While his stories like ‘The Last Fire’ deal with the father son relationship, the stories like ‘Slavery’ deals with changing equations within the family, and also reflects on the abject poverty that millions of Indians face. Mukhopadhyay, gives a detailed description of nature in his stories like ‘The Crawler.’ Some of the stories in the collection like ‘Dolls’ Family’ and ‘The White Bird And Its Black Shadow’ if read together yields a better understanding not only of the stories but of the complexities and changing ferments of life. Silence is a recurring theme in most of his stories. Most of the stories in this collection are about strange “relations between a man and a woman” in a world of complexities (78). Most of his characters appear to be simple but we find the wrinkles of life on their face which makes them complex. He displays great understanding of human emotions, and his characters are not escapist in nature but they face the realities of life with an iron fist. The plot of some of the stories like ‘A Marathon Race’ appears to be a bit dramatic. The compilation will not only enlighten and entertain all kinds of readers but also holds immense potential for further studies. Dr. Aju Aravind Assistant Professor, Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad



• Aju Mukhopadhyay
Dear friends – This is to inform with pleasure that the University of Mumbai is releasing a book "Einfach Menschlich", (Simply Human) published by the German Language department of the University- on 12 October 2011 during a three day inter-university conference there. This book contains a short story by me “The Pride of a Woman” from my book of Short Stories, ‘The Moments of Life’, published by Frog Books, Mumbai and USA.

Four Critics’ Bird-Eye Reviews of Nature Poems of Aju Mukhopadhyay

Insect’s Nest and Other Poems. Gurgaon (Haryana):
Prasoon Publication, 2010. pp. 72. Rs. 95, $ 4/-

1
Prof. Syed Ameeruddin, Founder President-International Poets Academy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India-
I have received your wonderful and very exciting and intellectually thought provoking, poetry collection- ‘Insect’s Nest and other Poems’- published by Prasoon Publication, Gurgaon, Haryana, India. With much difficulty with my blurred vision- I have perused through the book- but later- my daughter red out your poems to me.
It is no exaggeration to say that-all your poems are so fascinating that each poem is a gem in itself. All your poetic conception in this anthology deserves genuine appreciation- for its novelty and innovative methodology- that has gone into the very conception of each poem. Your unique way of describing the phenomenon of nature and particularly the very sensitive and keen observation of birds, insects, worms and animals, I think- this is a rare element- in the very writing of poetry- in any language so far.
You have certainly become pioneer and path finder in this special aspect of minute observation of nature and the non human life around us. You have touched greater peaks in this respect- than Wordsworth, Emily Dickenson, Walt Whitman, etc. I once again Congratulate you for bringing out such a unique anthology of poetry and I pray for your long life, peace of mind, good health to serve the cause of world poetry of generations to come, and also-Wishing you a very poetically exciting and prosperous New Year 2011.

2
Bernard M Jackson, England; International Review Writer

It is futile to talk about peace
until the fire of hunger we extinguish
in every human being
if not in every living thing. (‘Hunger and Thirst’)

Romantic in spirit, formidable in his defence of true ecological ethics, and a profound lover of Nature, the remarkable outpourings of the widely acclaimed Aju Mukhopadhyay are simply pregnant with yearnings for a better world, a world where peace, fellowship and justice can be universally established, and where Man shall realize his designated stewardship within the natural order of Creation. During my many years of interaction and closeness of association with a rapidly expanding Indian-English small press poetry network across the major extent of such a vast sub-continent, it is hardly surprising that the works of this enigmatic, forceful writer had not previously been known to me, but of a certainty, here is an Indian thinker of high-mindedness and integrity, a poet whose philosophical utterances not only have international appeal and relevance, but exude also and enlightened resolve to be heard and duly responded to. Besides this prestigious writer’s twelve books in Bangla, he has authored the amazing number of 14 books in English, and has had poems featured in many of India’s higher profile poetry magazines.
In A. M.’s avowal that we should ‘live and let live’, even the smallest beings of known creation, within the natural order, are given due prominence. Meanwhile, he equates the brief establishment of an insect’s nest with the unsettled future of even the most impressive of man-made buildings or constructions:
Aint all the great constructions
like insect’s nest
brittle and fragile
sure to go
today or tomorrow
measured by time ?
why bother about any mark made of lime ? (‘Insect’s Nest’)

In Praise of Birds and Trees

Thoughts of life’s gradual passing have led this poet to a deeper contemplation of bird life, and of Golden Orioles in particular. His poem, ‘The Profiles of Birds’, superb in descriptive choice of phrase, is of excellent alliterative quality, and has great charm of resonance heightened by variegated cadenced development. Conservations, too, is a key element in Mukhopadhyay’s thinking, as his poem, ‘Silence in the Forest’, clearly demonstrates: “We always destroy / while planning to conserve and develop,” claims Mukhopadhyay, and “we are the only intruders.”
And in a subsequent poem, ‘The Tree’, he reveals his substantial knowledge tree-life, extolling the very beneficence of trees in their God-given role of supplying the needs of the natural world:
Besides flowers, roots, fruits, woods, seeds and shade
They give juice, oil and bread, their bodies to insects when dead.
Epitome of silence, patience and perseverance
Trees are essential to others for their existence
So receptive to human love and touch
Trees are love and beauty incarnate without any grudge. (‘Trees’)
There is music, too, within Mukhopadhyay’s poetry, for besides the lyrical quality of his work in general, I was drawn to his delightful poem, ‘Of Melody, Rhythm and Meaning’, as he delves into what may be discovered at the very heart of musicality:
There is even the music unheard
like an emotion stilled in our heart,
or a poem unwritten on a page
like a dream formed on ethereal stage
but incommunicable such things remain,
inaccessible other than n subtle plane. (‘Of Melody, Rhythm and Meaning’)

Savage Extinguishment of Nature
Mukhopadhyay deplores the way that indigenous natives throughout the world have been driven from their natural habitats, or otherwise cruelly extinguished. This form of savage violation has been visited (by Man) upon wildlife in forests and jungles to such an extent, that: “Wherever minerals, oil or woodland treasures are found / men run to acquire the wealth profound / extinguishing the pristine flora and fauna / and the indigenous people, Nature-bound” (‘The Uncivilised’). And here the poet makes the salient observation: “that men become pollutants, we are not surprised / that civilised people are the most uncivilised.” Indeed, the included poem that immediately follows (‘The Adivasi’), develops the theme still further, for here Mukhopadhyay dwells upon Man’s inhumanity to Man, as nature dwellers in different parts of the world, who had become subjects to all manner of inhumane, often brutally savage treatment, were frequently driven from their ancestral homelands, to be herded away for a harsh existence of abject slavery. – A superb poem (‘The Uncivilised’), delivered with mounting passion and authoritarian zeal, in the writer’s crusading appeal for tolerance and justice in a world largely consumed by greed and aggrandizement of the individual, or whoever is powerful enough to actively encourage such monstrous circumstances.
In Praise of Peace
But without a doubt, one of the most impressive poems to be found in this multifarious selection is is his purely lyrical, mantra-like soliloquy in praise of Peace, as this poet, in so many ways, tells, with constant use of simile and metaphor, of the wonderful nature of Peace. However, and very much by contrast, in yet another of his poems, ‘We are at Nuclear War’, he warns with fearsome clarity of the impending horrific effects of a widespread Nuclear attack and its consequential major scale of destruction, should this terrifying awesome threat not be sidelined and hopefully dismantled.
Aju Mukhopadhyay is an excellent poet of profound didactic capabilities. His philosophy of life is distinctly morally sound and, from a literary point of view, really quite admirable. It is greatly to be hoped that this fine opus will soon be acquired and absorbed by many like-minded readers, litterateurs and fellow poets.

3
Patricia Prime, Atatu, Newzealand

Insect’s Nests and Other Poems is Aju Mukhopadhyay’s sixth collection of poems in English. The book contains 44 poems divided into three sections: “With Nature Again,” “Already with you, humans” and “looking the other way.”
The title poem, “Insect’s Nest,” has Mukhopadhyay observing a wasp’s nest on the wall at the back of his computer. But, philosophically, he ventures that in time everything, be it humanity, nature or insects, will all be confined to dust:

Ain’t all the great constructions
like insect’s nest
brittle and fragile
sure to go
today or tomorrow
measured by time?
Why bother about any mark made by lime?

The lengthy poem, “The Profiles of Birds,” is both literal and figurative, as the poet observes the golden orioles in his garden. He readies his camera to capture the beauty of the birds, but only succeeds in catching their shadows and feels perhaps it was wrong to try and imprison their images. This first section then sees nature through the eyes, heart and mind of the poet. In “Sky and Rain,” after months of drought, there is a storm, which “continued to rain / without refrain,” but during its intermission, the poet “looks with wide eyes / what the men and their wives / are doing below.” “The Tree” details the growth and production of a variety of trees: saguaro, deodar, redwood and bamboo, among others. Mukhopadhyay tells us about the nature of trees which provide us with an abundance of gifts:

Beside flowers, roots, fruits, leaves, woods, seeds and shade
They give juice, oil and bread, their bodies to insects when dead.
Epitome of silence, patience and perseverance
Trees are essential to others for their existence
So receptive to human love and touch
Trees are love and beauty incarnate without any grudge.

The second section, “Already with you, humans,” reveals the rewards of the structuring device used in these sections, most clearly. “Passing by the hillock of garbage / he lifts the handkerchief mechanically / to his nose” (“Kolkata: A Still-Image”), which
features a man strolling through the city, “Walking until he halts before the “fragrance of flowers.” “Hunger and Thirst” brings together “the basic urge of life.” As the poet says,
It is futile to talk about peace
until the fire of hunger we extinguish
in every human being
if not in every living thing.

“The Advasi” (a six-page poem) is concerned with “The adventurers from Europe”: Columbus, Cortes, Cook and others. It details over its length the ways in which the colonizers converted, brainwashed and exploited native peoples. He surmises that nothing has changed over the centuries:

Nothing has stopped, nothing goes unhindered
Old world of exploitation marches on –
Extracting wealth from the bowl of earth, sea
And sky for prosperity, industry;
The old incorrigible, superstitious

In “What Peace is Like,” peace is compared with natural phenomenon: “the early rays of the Sun,” “the rising full moon,” “the deep silence of the wood,” and the “concurrent rain.” Most of all:

Peace is love, Peace is smile
Let the true Peace spread
Let this not be fragile.
Lyrical Meditations on Being

The third section, “Looking the other way,” contains lyrical meditations. Mukhopadhyay has the ability to grapple the great subjects with a melancholy that belongs to us all, with a deceptive simplicity that sounds as if it is coming from his wisest self. In this section, his subjects are our subjects: retirement, the passage of time, the formless Being, the revolution and transformation of humanity, the changes in circumstances that concern us all, and our temporary sojourn on earth. Many of his constructs are colloquial, yet philosophical narratives. In “The Channels of Life,” he ponders what it means when “this flow of life” slackens. It is only by peace and harmony, the utilizing of our powers and resources that we can find satisfaction in our lives:

There is regret, there is remorse
pull and push
but if you agree
in sweet harmony
to initiate the drive
towards the height, the infinity
life becomes secured
utilizing its resource.

“The Being” considers the overwhelming Being who is “beyond all cognition.” It is a whimsical wondering. The thought of such a Being, overwhelms us as we cannot recognize its power. But the poem concludes with the poet staring into the everyday, where he may be about to reach the Being and find solace:

Such a Being
overwhelming
beyond all cognition
will fulfil me beyond all definition
if by chance I reach it
completing a full circuit.

Mukhopadhyay seldom makes moral judgments. In his plain statements, he keeps his mind focused on the issues and makes his language accessible to everyone. He knows the trick of pulling the mysterious out of the everyday. He does it just by looking at things long enough with the attention available to us all. His musings ponder everything. Here is the poet talking about himself and saying that no-one is self-sufficient – we are all part of the same universe and rely on each other, nature and resources for our wellbeing:

The body I was born with, the cover
The one I am living in, the shelter
Not the same it seems yet it is the same
Excitement, happiness and bereavements
All the relationship in between us,
Earthly creatures, are inevitable links (“Grateful”)

It is Mukhopadhyay’s lack of moral judgment on his subjects, his taking a stand one way or the other on the important issues of life that adds to the refreshing quality of his work. A great example for how this presides in his poems is the book’s closing verse, “Tenant,” in which the poet imagines the dilemma of not being aware of our neighbours and what happens to them.

Only sparrows, crows and mynas
knew
the housewife and her daughter
who used to spread
on the balustrade
curried rice and crumbs of bread
left over anything
each morning.

The conclusion of the poem is perhaps the perfect summing up of exactly what it is that works in Insect’s Nest, and has worked in Mukhopadhyay’s best poetic meditations in previous volumes,

Ain’t all of us tenant
living in whatever tenement
changing it like our raiment
unnoticed?
Ain’t everything on earth
based on temporary arrangement?

Thus, the poet returns us to the title poem, dedicated to the wasp’s industry and its determination to hold onto life no matter what stands in its way.


It is as though Mukhopadhyay’s persona, the poet revealed behind the curtain is you or I. Or maybe an apparition that forces us to observe, to learn and to capture the spirituality of the natural world in which we live.

4

Dr. Shubha Mukherjee, GN Khalsa College, Matunga, Mumbai – 400 019

Aju Mukhopadhyay’s heart-felt poems are not just an exposition of nature’s beauty but a revelation of the pragmatic existence that is otherwise unobserved. Essentially romantic in spirit and exceptionally incredible in harmony the poems build the imaginative castle of emotion and reliance to enhance the beauty and necessity of existence. There is a vast gap between the enjoyment of incarnate nature and the understanding of life through the teachings of nature and this crevice is very well expressed by the poet –

Ain’t all the great constructions
like insect’s nest
brittle and fragile
sure to go
today or tomorrow
measured by time?
Spiritual Aura of Nature Poems

The untiring labor of an ant has throughout been appreciated and even proverbs have been framed on their dedicated hard work but Mukhopadhyay’s analysis goes much beyond the committed effort of the tiny creatures which makes his poetry attain the stature of brilliance. Nature is entirely enwrapped in poems like ‘The Profiles of Birds’, ‘The Dust’, ‘At the River Bank’, ‘Sky and the Rain’, ‘Silence in the Forest’, ‘The Tree’ and ‘Stars in Space’. All these poems are not just a panorama that touches our heart but a cadence that modifies our behavior. It is as if the poet is filled with an aura of spiritual enlightenment while watching the chasm of nature with proximity and so his other poems seem harsh as they lash out on the so-called uncivilized people who are, according to him, the most civilized ones. It is terror that reigns the world and peace is lost forever. The poet is sad to note that, in spite of nature being there as a guide, people forget to follow and adhere to it. Selfishness is the root cause and the ‘thirst for blood and revenge’ is so strong that ‘every idea is dissolved by some intervention unexpected’. The only hope lies in true peace and the poet is not happy with the peace talked off in general –

Let the true peace spread
Let this not be fragile.

The poet is apprehensive about the attainment of peace as it is a nuclear era and nuclear war just awaits at a stone throw. It is the time to ‘awake, arise and act’. Like statues we just can’t wait and watch. Every child, as it eats its first rice, enters a life filled with beauty as well as struggle. Through various such submissions the poet tries to instill the importance of life and the acquisition of tranquility. Magnificently has the poet conveyed the importance of serenity and condemned the hostility of terror. Every word justifies his unrestricted enthusiasm and overwhelming conception from the grandeur and philosophy of nature. Every idea authenticates his indomitable aspiration and uninhibited determination to win over terror through affection and harmony.