Wislawa Syzmborska has been an
elemental influence. Today being the birth anniversary I thought about writing
about this. This blogger started to take reading seriously in his mid20s,
before that reading was confined to prescribed texts, encyclopedia and comics, hence didn’t have much
exposure to poems and prose. I had started to scribble few lines, that too with
left hand –a kind of slow laborious construction of lines, that grew
interesting as it developed. Meanwhile I was also taking part time classes for GK that gave me ample money. It is during this time that I had to discuss on
Nobel prize winners, and this name came into focus, the year was 1997. Didn’t
think much about it but as I repeated this name few times I kind of start
liking it, and found myself repeating it. Very soon thought of reading her, and
boy what a way to get introduced to poems and prose writing! Terrific. She
explored the spaces that are hinged in everyday, in quite simple language but with profound meanings. She still remains one of the best in my list of all-time
greats. Simply adorable. Nobel prizes were something that was part of
international news and nothing much was added to it but with Syzmborska I
understood that I could get access to the best of writings by following the
list of winners. Later in Delhi I was able to locate few authors, but the
torrent started after I got into internet and that was entirely a new exciting
world. Very soon I was keen to understand the minds and influence of these
spectacular writers, and rightly stumbling upon Syzmborska’s Nobel speech and
that open up the door for further explorations and discoveries. The adventure really
hasn’t stopped since then…
The reclaiming
Tsunamis,
earthquakes, cyclones, floods and whatnot
In the
calamities that strikes every now and then
nature has
least of concern for life
ticking
off humans -the one that
has highest estimate of themselves
pampered by
religion and anthropomorphized sugarcoats
bewitched in their own spiraling grand selves.
They are
tossed around without a thought.
Mega
structures cleaved, submerged, cleared off in an embarrassing hurry.
Ardent prayers of surefooted faiths
and fate vendors
fetching absolutely nothing.
Mangled
bodies are dropped on the wayside to rot
gnawing soup
for worms
in final ignominy
of sort
as the
primal force sets out to unequivocally establish its will.
In the
higher scheme of things human life is a non existent speck
at the most
a carbon unit whose atoms are now reclaimed
by the
elements to randomly refigure
without any
excuse or thought.
