Indian Poetry has won the crown of modernism long ago.We definitely observe INTERTEXTUALITY,in Tagore`s poems-in his numerous borrowings from Vedic hymns,Bhakti poems,Baul songs,maithali religious-erotic poetry and so on.DEATH for him is the celestial wedding between the self and the Almighty,the elixir of life as in the Upanishads-
The flowers have been woven and the
Garland is ready for the bridegroom.
After wedding,the bride shall leave
Her home and meet her lord alone in
The solitude of night.
VERSE 91 of GITANJALI
India celebrates "unity in diversity``.The differences in language,in presentation, in cultural background,in religious practices, dissolve in the fundamental sameness of thoughts and theme,in the true essence of religion,in the bond of oneness called humanity.
Thus The prolific Amir Khusro`s poetic originality reverberates in the poignant theme of Verse 91.Khusro`s Hindvi doha,generated on the painful demise of his dear Nizamuddin Aulia,is invested with a sweet sadness, unlike GITANJALI .It delineates fantastically this heartbreaking sense of estrangement as a bride`s departure from after wedding:
Gori sovay sej par
Mukh par daray kesh ;
Chal Khusrau ghar aapnay saanjh
Bhaee chahu des.
The fair maiden rests
On a bed of roses,
Her face covered
With a lock of hair ;
Let us oh Khusrau , return home now,
The dark dusk settles in four corners of the world.
It is obvious that a land which can cause the creation of
Ramayana & Mahabharata ,its two prestigious masterpieces, invariably can give birth to a precious poetic version of the cosmos with all the variety that life offers.So, the moment a lover of literature endeavours to embrace Indian Poetry, he is invited into an awesome infinity.He will have a lifetime of an encounter with the wealth of imagination,brilliance of intellect,sublimity of spiritual quest and with the plethora of references made to the social fabric,the cultural heritage, the intellectual pursuit,and the various political,social,cultural,ideological and economic upheavals that affect Indian life, and the world at large.And above all he will sense the very involvement of the poet`s soul which casts the halo of beautiful poetry that has illuminated the literary tradition from times immemorial.
India with its resplendent richness has always been appealing to poets of all generations.Hence an enchanted Michael Madhusudan persuasively pledges:
Forget me not,O Mother
Should I fail to return
To thy hallowed boson
Make not the lotus of thy memory
Void of its nectar-Madhu
Patriotism is in our blood.The feminine power expresses itself in the vigour of Sarojini Naidu:
Thy future calls thee with a manifold sound
To crescent honours,splendours,
Victories vast;
Waken,O slumbering mother,
And be crowned,
Who once wert empress of the sovereign past.
This urgency to banish the intruder British from India, motivated Bankim to compose the stirring song of BANDE MATARAM.
Till today we salute their unflinching commitment.Our slogans for emancipation rhyme with the resurgence of the French Revolution:
Freedom is our universal speech
Equality is the experienced fact.
Truly, we are the universal people gifting this world the treasure of literature.
Polyculturalism being the mantra of modern life, conditions modern Indian Poetry.The cosmopolitan poets with their immense exposure to international cultural festivals and book -fairs, have gained access to SPIVAK,SAID, GARCIA MARQUEZ, SARTRE , ELIOT and so many other eminent thinkers.
We notice the emergence of SubAltern Poetry with a group of poets, hailing from the marginal section of the society and yet, successful in coming into the limelight of recognition.Anuradha Mahapatra`s rural background cannot prevent her from giving shape to Spell wherein she laments the innate habit of Desire and its sad subsequent drowning into the waters of melancholy ,which is the other name for the always sullen self.
Female poets and their imparted verses have been an integral part of Indian poetic history.We have Gargi and lopamudra to boast of.
Presently ,the scenario is ruled by names like Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Kamala Das,Sujata Bhatt and many others.Nabaneeta Dev Sen`s The Yellow River eulogises the overpowering force of the spirit of revolution and necessary change symbolised in the image of the yellow river which gushes forth into "the great wall of china" that "rises within/blocking everything" in the confined prison of rigid ,narrow psychological world.
We come across striking experimentation in form,devices,voices and motifs as we peruse modern Indian Poetry.Chandra Raut`sSnake (Oriya) explores CHRISTIAN myth and BIBLICAL imagery, while Keki Daruwalla`s A Parsi Hell (English) caters to a Parsi Heritage. Again, Nilmani Phookan`s imagistic magic is demonstrated in his Poems.
His poems pertain to the Assamese tribal myth and folklore,the rythms of village life ,while he luxuriates in the enigma .
Indian Poetry with its forever appeal will exist as long as emotions will continue to evolve in us, as long as man will breathe, his heart will beat.
Poetry as a concept is much wider than it being mere verse-composition.It is the rythm of existence which we experience in living our life-like the divine union of lovers or a significant discovery about the self or the world , which becomes poetry.
Indian Epic poetry
The term, `epic` is used mostly to describe a long, narrative poem relating heroic deeds. In literary usage, the term encompasses both oral and written work. Primary examples would be Homer`s Iliad and Odyssey. An epic may be about subjects as myriad as heroic legends, myths, beast fables, philosophical theories etc.
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