Sunset

Rahul:

sa’ataiN: sa’at: a second or a moment….sa’ataiN: a few moments
daimi: eternal
da’anaouN: dana- wise…da’anaouN is plural
ba’jooz (Is that `inspite of`, in Allahabad we call that bawajood)—inspite of is correct!

…in essence you got the gist alright:)

…if you go to Frances Pritchett”s page and scroll down to A Desertful of Roses you will find links to Platts online dictionary of hindi and urdu…and he labour of love—Ghalib!

…that thread on off the wall by khamy has disappeared…the link? when i read that couplet somehow the mind wandered over to that pause button on life i mentioned to you earlier…and then the words flowed…

rgds

t

Temporal,

I can read Urdu in Devanagari script. A couple of attempts at Arabo-Persian script haven`t succeded, maybe sometime in future.

I`m sending your poem to a friend who writes Urdu Shaayari, let`s see how he responds to it...

In the meantime, let me try on my own...

Could you please tell me the meaning of the following words
sa’atiaN
daimi
da’anaouN
ba’jooz (Is that `inspite of`, in Allahabad we call that bawajood)

The jest of the poem is,

Life is short,
will get over ending all the trials
and tribulations with it.
Why not take a break,
to reflect on the little joys,
enjoy the life today,
there may not be tomorrow.

I could not understand the connection to the Urdu couplet, u`ve added at the end.
chalo
jisay dekhni hO jannat
meray saath saath aa’aye

Is the poet saying that he is already an emancipated soul, free of the prejudices, unaffected by the bother that troubles ordinary men? Is it a call to fellow beings, come and join me, I`m the free spirit, I`ve discovered the truth, `Am God` :-)

Temporal,

How can I find the Unplugged thread that u referred in your last interact?

Regards,
Rahul

#9 - nina7

I write i-logs. Besides these, I submitted a poem to chowk.com editors for publishing on this website when I had newly become a member, here, on 30-NOV-03 which they kept on their file but didn`t publish. Then a few months ago, I sent a prose which they published on chowk.com `unplugged`. About three weeks ago, I had sent them a refined, re-read and re-thought sharpened version of my prose that they had published on `unplugged` for their re-consideration to publish it on `main`. Perhaps they will publish it now, and perhaps they won`t.

I`m no dillusional. I know that since my university days, my literary organization and writing skills have taken a backseat because of my devotion to my career in marketing. Chowk.com interests me and some of the articles published here I really enjoy reading which I like for their clarity of explanation, and as being thought-provoking, and spiritually uplifting.

Their is a saying in Zen Buddhism which goes: When the pupil is ready to learn, the master will appear. I agree with this. Relating my wanting to write, I believe I will be published when I am really ready to be, when I start to paint a Renoir, a chagall, or a Hals with my words.

I hope I was fair in answering you.

Peace!

Rahul:

...khamkhwa on unplugged opened a thread with (i think) a jagan naath azad couplet...jisay dekhni hO jannat, meray saath saath aa`aye...am not sure if you understand urdu...more on that pause button i spoke of the other day...:)

rgds,

t

Epiphany,

Do you write for chowk apart from i logs?

perhaps I am completely off. forgive me if it is such. I feel that this is prose- and would look more `appropriate` as prose.

otherwise, it`s pretty good- liked it.

b.

Epiphany,

Thanks for the link, I`ll see if I can get this in India.

Temporal,

You`ve hit the nail on the head. It is important to read as much as possible.

Rahul Malviya,

You asked Temporal for recommendations about a book on poetry, but Temporal tried to simplistically and intelligently transform you into a poet. Bravo, Temporal!

But you still need recommendations on a good book on poetry. Here is the URL at amazon.com of the book that I recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0073031801/qid=1100648513/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/102-8058313-1292113?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I`ve found this book very useful.

Peace!

Rahul:

…in addition to the basics…reading voraciously…studying language, semantics, rhetoric and blah blahs:)…a rather important quality for a poet is to use the pause button in their lives…a poet needs that pause mechanism to dissociate from the mundane…ok am exaggerating!… and reflect…this ability is inculcated if not inbuilt…otherwise the rush of life will overwhelm and the poet will be lost to us…

rgds,

t

Temporal,

Thanks for the time!

OK. I take back `understanding`, appreciation is more appropriate :-)

And appreciation requires a discerning mind, a brain that can pause, take deep breaths, let go. This is something that I don`t have. My mind buzzes around with a thousand urges, my eyes roll in all directions, notice everything, and observe nothing. There is always a hurry to reach the destination, the path is not savoured.

Take the example of ur poetry, ``Am no God``. You wrote that because you were able to let go of the tensions, tribulations and deadlines for some time, and absorb yourself in the innocence of a child, in the fun that (s)he is having.

Guess what, when I asked u this ques., I was expecting some rulebook, ``English poetry is mainly of blah-blah types - Sonnet, Ballad, blah-2``. You took it on a very different plane, the treatment was subtle and it really threw me off-balance.

I`m upset, your reply has depressed me, nth time in the day :-)

BTW, I may shoot a mail at your Chowk ID sometime...

Thanks again,
Rahul

(long post)

Rahul:

you wrote ….a few suggestions on improving my understanding of poetry….

…it is you who are very kind in seeking this small time poet’s indulgence…:)…there are books and treatises…am sure…on the subject of understanding just about everything…though am not aware of any dummies’ guide to poetryyet heck, there is a suggestion for someone;)…understanding is a loaded word when applied to any subject let alone poetry…we can spend a lifetime studying a subject and not understand even a miniscule of its potential worth and meaning…god and woman, for instance;)…

…hence i’d to stay away from applying it to an esoteric subject like poetry…would go more for appreciate…how does one appreciate poetry?…easy answer is to declare majestically… ‘either one appreciates it or one doesn’t’…there!…end of discussion…but it is a cop out…the proper answer to this query might result in that book!…having led you this far i would make an attempt to give you a very subjective perception…(you are forewarned)…poetry is felt…the degree of this feeling is subjective…

…to live we eat…several times a day if the good lord provides…occasionally if the lords are unkind…but we do eat…the appreciation…the understanding of what is before us on our plate is subjective…some wolf it down, some tinker with it agonizingly, some enjoy every single morsel, some read while eating, some watch tv, concentrate on conversation, listen to music…all the while eating…some care about presentation…some don’t…some care about the right warmth, the right ingredients, the right aroma….culture and conditioning also have a lot to do with this understanding of the food we eat…hope you understand this long winded attempt at explaining…a poet might say the same thing as:

each morsel, every grain is me
or less succinctly
food is felt
or to be madisonavish
you are what you eat
and to be a bit graphic
dust to dust, morsel to morsel...

(digression! clichés are the speed-bumpers in prose and verse;))

...and then let the reader whirl his mind over the various possibilities hidden in the phrase…and then the reader’s mind, aided by experience and imagination takes flight…soaring high above…taking in all the possibilities to ascertain and evaluate the relationship between food and us…

… cannot tell you what a good poem is…but i can tell you what it should not be…but even there perhaps i’d be highly subjective…

…a good poem should be felt by the reader…this is a reverberation in a small or large sense of the feeling of a poet with that of the reader…a poet succeeds in measure when s/he is able to convey through words feelings that resonates with the experiences of the reader…the universal soul becomes one at that point…

..let me illustrate this with a short a poem of mine…Am No God…30 words…simple words used effectively…this poem came about when i was horsing around with my son one day…just like that…i scribbled these words on the back of an envelope…

…confession: later tried deliberately to write some poems in this simple way…did not work for me!…poems like these just descend…I think:)…

…now, if you are a sensible person, ignore all of above and just google “understanding english poetry” and in 0.58 seconds it will give you 2,090,000 results ...and you might find this Understanding and Explicating Poetry interesting

rgds

t

Epiphany,

Thanks for the excerpt from the theology paper! Romila Thaper discusses this in some detail in her ``Early India``. According to her, time in Indian context has two components - the cyclical and linear. The former is a part of cosmology and the latter is born of human actions. The cyclical time is so vast (smallest unit being 4,320,000 years) that most people prefer to work with linear time. However, cyclical time is used for calculations in Astronomy, and serves as the background of the entire spiritual thought in Indian context.

Temporal,

Thanks for the poem; I liked the `not all battles are worth` stanza.

I wrote this one because the visuals were captivating. An old man debilitated by the corrosion that sets in with age, his gloom deepened by watching people strut around energetically in a park. And then he sees the sunset. His pain is mirrored in the unceremonious exit of the all powerful energy giver, or so he thinks...

Unfortunately, I could not capture it well due to my language handicap and lack of understanding of poetry. Now that u`ve been kind enough to interact on this board, how about a few suggestions on improving my understanding of poetry. Is there some good book that can be used for a start?

rahul:

moving!

(inspired this)

lonely cloud

fight back, fight back air echoes
and deaf to them some move one
oblivious
blind
cloud-like

not all battles are worth
taking up swords for
sunshine and eid in the air
young and eager smiles
anticipating and warming

nahin kaam mujhay aaj
fasoordagi say, ranjishOn say
shukranay ki takrar
hay her soo’ aaj
aaj--mustaqbil ka pehla din

time to step out
a step at a time
to newer smiles
on today’s faces
a step on the road
to tomorrow’s salaam, today

Rahul Malviya,

Your poem reminded me of the cycle of birth and death that one follows and overlaps the other in turns. Below I quote text from a paper that my sister wrote on the concept of transcendence in Hinduism for a theology class:

``He (Shiva) destroys to clear the path for progress and ascension and to make room for new creation. His destructive activity is a harbinger of change and, thus, is seen as a vigorous and dynamic creative activity. The dancing Shiva is often shown dancing on the squirming body of the demon of delusion symbolizing the error in insisting on permanence in this ever-changing transient life.

``Where one hand of the dancing Shiva holds the flame that scourges the other is held in the gesture of “fear not”. The wildly streaming locks are known to have soaked the destructive torrent created with the descent of the divine Ganges from heaven, letting the life-and-salvation-bestowing waters then blowing gently to the earth for the spiritual and spiritual refreshment of humankind.

``The destruction of his lower self allows his higher or spiritual self to come to expression. Thus, it does not come as a surprise that Shiva, the dark god is actually also the patron god of ascetics who try to curb the body to free the soul by rooting out all worldly affections and lusts. The result will be a great access of power and this regeneration is the main aim of the activities of Shiva.``

Naturally, we are physically born and die in the physical world as representation, for one, of fulfilling our term of life, in life. Death is also a metaphysical sub-set of physical life, existing therein. On occasion, we realize that in order to live a life, one that is a metaphysical sub-set of a physical life, we must die metaphysically in order to be born metaphysically to attain enlightenment.

Peace!