Monday, September 30, 2013

Book Review: Ratan Bhattacharjee's The Ballad of the Bleeding Bubbles; A Fabulous Bouquet of Love Poems

By- Varsha Singh

“Writing since more than two decades, Dr.Ratan Bhattacharjee has earned a name for himself as a poet and a critic. His nostalgia for the lost glories of his race make him a true poet of the soil. He is a gifted poet with a humanitarian approach, fascinated by ecological concerns. Bhattacharjee’s sense of belonging to the socio-cultural moorings widens the scope and vision of his poetry.”
—Dr.Nandini Sahu, Associate Professor of English, Poet & Editor

Ratan Bhattacharjee’s poems are always an uncommon pleasure to read for all the poetry lovers. Being defined by their hospitable grace; they're easy to take in yet anything but superficial: they repay return visits, as I personally feel. After reading his poems, anyone may trace his belief that love is the utmost spirituality which must come before God as well.

After the huge success of his anthology of poems Melodies and Maladies: A Bouquet Of Love Poems the poet comes back with another sensual ecstasy The Ballad of the Bleeding Bubbles: A Fabulous Bouquet of Love Poems with two parts subtitled as Melodies Of Love and Maladies of Love.

How does this poet end up with such intensity of love and passion in his writings? Bhattacherjee clarifies his stand by stating, “These poems of The Ballad of the Bleeding Bubbles are the outcome of my interactions with men and women in reality and dreams. I talk with my characters in my poems and there are still some with whom I had an imaginary conversation. Even the most fabulous characters are all real to me. My passions and feelings are all genuine. They are quintessentially tangible. Like the frustrated people, I never take refuge in Philosophy.”  Well, the poets stand is quite thought provoking and as engaging as his poems.

Ratan Bhattacherjee writes mostly about the agonies of human life, “Legend says, / When you cannot sleep at night/ You may be lost in someone's dream/ Legend says, / When memory is liquid like milk/ Sorrow is its delicious cream. / Legend says, / When you cannot walk alone/ Your hand may be in a good friend's hand/ Legend says, / When you do not see the rivers/ They are lost in the sand.”; about tragic severance, “There is none, none at the/ End of the long road/ Waiting for me at sunset. / My bus moves fast on the highway/ and all around are gay. / There was none that night at the end of meadow/ Where the champaks bloomed in a dark shadow/ I had many moons glistening above. / There is none for me to wait with a touch of love. / When she was not there and I was alone, / In the sky above the stars only shone. / I groaned under the sorrowful chains/ None was there at the end of the road/ To carry the sorrowful load/ When I suffered from writhing pains.”; about failure, “I didn’t mean what I said/ I was always so afraid...../ When I see the wind blowing/ I am scared to discover its fury/ My life is so cursed, I never hoped/ Anything good.... I have lost faith in life”; and most vividly about love, the ever vital passion in human heart, as the poet considers it “When I loved you/ You kept silent/ Like the olive sky/ With none to ask ‘why’. / When I loved you/ You sang a song/ About the rains To wash out all my ‘pains’. / Loved you so much/ As the birds love the nest/ I was so tired/ I craved for rest. / Why I loved you/ Nobody knew/ I loved you/ A bud clothed in dew..”   
  
According to an eminent poet and academician Jaydeep Sarangi Bhattacherjee’s poems are “record blue and liquid whisper of hearts where rolling and sparkling lines become reflections of his petty little corner of mind. His theme song is deeply human and thus deeply universal.” Elisabetta Marino, the poet and versatile writer and academician of the University of Rome wrote about the poet “Bhattacherjee’s poems are a noble hymn to universal love, harmony, and brotherhood. In his compelling lines, continents meet, men and women discover subtler channels of communication, and nature ceases to be a mystery, while turning into a friend, ready to share joys and sorrows. Ratan Bhattacharjee’s words are a soothing balm, restoring peace to the troubled heart.” In the words of Dora Sales “Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee is a valuable poetic voice to be heard. He has written a compelling collection of love poems that cover many hues of love: softness, longing, desire… all written with a simple and delicate poetic touch.”

To conclude, it would be a great suggestion for the readers to delve deep through the beautiful poems of this collection without missing the spontaneous overflow of emotions, feelings, pathos, thoughts – captured well and versified.

 About the Poet
Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee , the bilingual writer  and academician is at present the Chairperson of the Post Graduate Dept. of English and is also associated with teaching in the PG Dept of English of Rabindra Bharati Univesity , both  in regular and distance. He is the Executive member in the International Advisory Board of International Theodore Dreiser Society, USA http://www.dreisersociety.org/ His book of poems The Ballad of the Bleeding Bubbles is a milestone of poetic literature. He was formerly associated with the Indian Association of American Studies (IAAS) as a member of the Executive Body and now he is the Founder Director of the newly inaugurated Dattani Archive and Research Association (DARA), Kolkata. He edits the Journal VIEW (Voices of the Indian English Writers) He has to his credit nearly five books on British and American literature and nearly 650 articles. And 200 poems and a good number of short stories all in English.

His email id is drrb07@gmail.com
Phone : 08961688870

Address
988, Jessore Road, Satgachi, Rupalaya Apt. Kolkata-700074, West Bengal


About the book
Author: Ratan Bhattacharjee
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 9788182534469
Publisher: Cyberwit.net
Pub. Date: 2013
Price: INR 175


Friday, September 20, 2013

Book Review: Santanu Halder's Bonsaied Rhapsodies

- By Varsha Singh

According to Edgar Allan Poe, “With me poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion.”

Similar stature is that of Santanu Haldar, for whom poetry has never been a purpose but his all-time passion. In the words of Santanu, “I write/for no reason,/only my love for it/compels me to write always/an  urge from within,/a restless longing/I feel in genes/in my veins/to write/as I do/now.”(p.28)

Santanu defines poetry in the utmost unique and truthful way, “Poetry is like a river/ which runs through my blood/ an outburst of emotion/ which submerges me in a flood/ Poetry is a beautiful picture/ envisaged in words/ an imaginative power/ which encompasses the mind’s yard/ Poetry is a spontaneous flow/ deep rooted in my soul/an obsession,/ an addiction/but immortal on the whole.” (p.24)

Being a teacher by profession and a poet at will, Halder was born and brought up in a town named Bongaon, which is situated near the City of Joy- Kolkata, West Bengal. He has great fondness for his native land, which becomes visible in each of his creative work.

Bonsaied Rhapsodies is Haldar’s debut collection of fifty poems; in which the first eleven poems, categorized as Divine Songs are about childhood days.

In the words of Jane Yolen, “Literature is a textually transmitted disease, normally contracted in childhood;” Santanu too caught this literary disease in his childhood days.

A New Dawn (pg.11)
Look at my eyes,/ Look at my face,/ Of Sorrow or suffering/ There is no trace./ With innocent tongue,/ I cannot hurt./ Because I am little,/ Pure is my heart./ Keep me in your lap,/ And look at my eyes,/ You will find a dawn,/ A new sunrise.

It is a well-known fact that the days of childhood are the most festive, dreamy and glorious days of life. Santanu has done commendable artistry by bringing forth the festive, dreamy and glorious days of life in the most simple, effective and eloquent manner through his poetry.

Another 39 poems from this anthology are varied and related to the experiences of life, writings, journey towards destination, love, time, as well as existence.


Santanu, by dwelling through his beautiful poems in Bonsaied Rhapsodies has not found his life, but created one, for others to inspire. There is lot to witness from more of his poetic ventures in the coming time. Hope he procures many more insights in future for the aspiring readers. 

About Santanu Halder

A teacher by profession and a poet at will - Santanu Halder was born and brought up in a small town named Bongaon, near Kolkata, West Bengal. He has done M.A in English Literature and teaching university students for 6 years. A scholar, a translator,an interviewer and a bilingual poet writing in both Bengali and English, Santanu Halder has already authored three books, these are - (1) American Literature for WBSU Students, (2) Old English Literature in a Nutshell and (3) a book on translation.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Book Review : Kiriti Sengupta’s The Reciting Pens

- By Varsha Singh

“You are an explorer, and you represent our species, and the greatest good you can do is to bring back a new idea, because our world is endangered by the absence of good ideas. Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness.” 
-    Terence McKenna

This saying is apt for the prolific author Kiriti Sengupta’s recently published book The Reciting Pens which embraces the mélange of three variant poets from the artistic land of Bengal.  The book is enriched with the interviews of three eminent poets Joya Mitra, Ranadeb Dasgupta, and Suddhasatya Ghosh along with few of their selective poems translated from Bangla into English by Kiriti Snegupta himself. Sengupta has come out as an explorer who gives his best in order to bring out the hidden gems from this nation, India. Being from a plural country, we have had remained unknown from our multicultural prospects, concepts, beauty and ideology since long. The crisis was because of the absence of consciousness. This newly found consciousness of the author/translator Kiriti Sengupta works as a quick healing balm in the present context.

The book begins with a beautiful poem of Sengupta (translated by Rituparna Sarkar into English) chosen purposefully to give a hard blow on the construct of society, where people are seen longing for son; whereas Kiriti’s poem indulges his longing for a daughter.

My friends were aware of the wish I nurtured.
If I had a daughter,
I would name her Srividya!

The foreword written by W.F.Lantry from Washington, DC is another surprise for the reader which becomes a bonus point for all. His crisp, detailed and subtle writing makes the concept of the book crystal clear in the beginning itself. His reflection on Bengal seems to be a real tribute for one of the most creative space of this land.

The volume deserves attention because it shows a nearly unknown side of the anthologized poets. Joya Mitra, the only women poet included in this book is considered as “The Captivating Joya Mitra” who is an accomplished Bengali author from Calcutta, India. Being deeply involved with the Naxalite movements in West Bengal in the ‘70s, she was imprisoned for few years but she never lost her spirit for writing. Kiriti has made the impossible task possible by making her viewpoints available to the readers by his heartwarming interview. He has dealt with the questions from each aspect of Mitra’s creative mind taking from the Naxalite movement to poetry, society, translation and few other captivating discussions. Four of Joya’s poem are included in this volume entitled; Water Festival, Yellow Coloured Earth, The Sandalwood Town and The Fishing Village: 1978.

Another section of the anthology includes the interview with poet Ranadeb Dasgupta as The Enchanting Ranadeb Dasgupta.  Kiriti makes it possible to witness the poet who believes in difference between “making of a poet’ and ‘producing of a poet’. Sengupta’s witty questions release a surge of high tide from the prominent poet Dasgupta. His answers are full of knowledge and experience as well. The four poems of Ranadeb Dasgupta included in this collection are; Prelude, From the Crossroads, Approach and Zero and One. All of these poems are translated into English by Kiriti Sengupta from the original Bangla works.

The last section of the anthology comprises The Lavish Suddhasatya Ghosh. The eminent poet Ghosh was born in 1974 in a politically vigorous family. As the chapter suggests, Kiriti makes the generous behavior of Ghosh very clear in the beginning. The extravagant interview has too much of offerings for the readers. Ghosh’s four verses included in this book are Birthday, Have Held Unfathomable in Hands, The Night and Magician.

The book ends with a postscript, marking a significant impact on the mind and heart of readers; by asking for further suggestions and rating from the readers’ desk.

It would be better to conclude with the rating of this book, as any suggestion is not possible for such an endeavor. The anthology deserves a 5.5 star rating on the chart of 5 stars. Worth reading book for all; who respect the value of words from each sphere.


About the Author

Kiriti Sengupta
A professionally qualified Dental Surgeon (B.D.S) from the University of North Bengal, India. Has a number of international poetry publications, e.g. in Taj Mahal Review www.tajmahalreview.com , Kritya Online www.kritya.in . A few of his poems have been included in the poetry book ‘Heavens above – Poetry below,’ published by Brian Wrixon (Canada).
Kiriti Sengupta has authored the following books so far:
1. ‘Byakul Shabdo Kichu’ (Bengali poetry book), published by Parampara Publishers, Calcutta. (ISBN: 9789380869636)
2. ‘Aay Na’ (Bengali nonfiction based on free articles), published by Dhansere Prakashan, Calcutta. (ISBN: 9788192642208)
3. ‘The Unheard I’ (English nonfiction), published by Dhansere Prakashan, Calcutta. (ISBN: 9788192642222) The book is being re-published in the U.S. by Inner Child Press, Ltd.
(Smashwords edition link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/335943)
4. ‘Twist of Fate’, a co-author of this international charity anthology published by Stephen L Wilson in collaboration with Navigator Books, U.S.A. (ISBN: 9780989002684)


Book Details
ISBN:  9780615861869
Publisher:  Inner Child Press, Limited
Number of Pages: 74

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Book Review - Vidyadhara Durgekar’s Sale of Souls: Love in Difficult Times

By- Varsha Singh

An awakening theme with an astonishing title and an insignificant tagline makes this book remarkable for its conceptual facts and details regarding the scenario of land acquisition in this era of globalization. It will be better to say, that, Sale of Souls is a remarkable story of land acquisition in the backdrop of a love story of two village youngsters where the gullible villagers keep fighting with their own confusions in order to either retain their ancestral village or the concession provided by the government.

Roshni, a young girl from the village, who has just enrolled as an advocate, joins the confused poor villagers to fight the powerful lobby of industrialists and politicians. Samar, a young professor, as a protagonist trying for a placid solution to all the issues in the village with his approach of 'sustainable development' finds himself in love with Roshni; which proceeds towards a surprising end of the story. 

The story is set in a remote village on the coast of Canara, known for its beautiful environment and bio-diversity, which is earmarked for land acquisition. The story basically revolves around the sensitive issues of crisis and conflict within the landmarks of poverty vs. development vs. environment; where love gets least space in the narrative.
Review in association with www.thebookaholics.in