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


4 comments:

  1. Varsha Singh comes up to celebrate my poems...Varsha is a strong literary voice of the young educated generation and I am so inspired by her in making the poems and now after the publication of the book, she again stands beside me with her deep inking and imaginative intellectuality...What should I tell her... dry thanks? No, my heartfelt gratitude I express for her review of my book in her famous blog.Voice of Dawn
    Her voice energises me once more to look into my heart and write.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a ton for your kind gesture Sir. Reading your works has always been a matter of immense pleasure to me. Waiting for more... - Varsha

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  2. The poems of Ratan Bhattacharjee are written with a simple and delicate poetic touch..........

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  3. a nice collection of love poems.............

    ReplyDelete