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It persuades, it sensitises
Rain Rising - Poems By Nirupama Menon Rao. Reviewed by Jaya Rao Dayal

Voltaire once said, “One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than prose". Indeed, with the growing decline of poetry worldwide and an upsurge in the novel, rarely does one chance upon a good book of poetry.

Rain Rising, a collection of poems, written by Nirupama Menon Rao was truly a great experience. Right from the visual impact of the cover, the tactile feel of the paper, the powerful imageries, the deft use of minimal discourse, the eloquence, the book tells you that yes, poetry persuades, poetry sensitizes.

About writing poetry, Nirupama Menon Rao mentions in the preface of her book that it is one way of…providing resolution to what is otherwise an infrared blur of images in the mind's deepest recesses.

In an interview, noted Indian writer and poet Amit Chaudhuri on being asked about the difference between the creative process of writing a novel and a poem said that when you write poetry, you think of how to hold back, to distil what to put in.

As readers, we embark on this journey with the poet. Her poems on Kailash Mansarovar, the River Tsangpo, St. Petersburg, or Samarkand, or the afternoon in a Moscow theatre, or El Parador del Colca are beautiful examples of creative exploration of one’s self being geographically distanced in time and space.

I would even include the poem Exit Ramp at Kottakal, where she says…this lush green…. serenity…is a matrix a warm fermented place where life stirs and roots twist themselves into conspiring secretive knots, allowing nothing to escape except the setting sun…On reading this, I could almost imagine the chlorophyll of the Kerala verdure which could even make the sun feel claustrophobic.

In Kailash Mansarovar…secrets shut out from us, not understanding, we hoped for the best view in our photographs. In moments like these, being there is all. I memorise the mountain…The range of imagery is dramatically distinct. While in St. Petersburg, she writes, The light here is special. Drenched by blood and frost……Nine hundred days written into symphonies of emptied tear ducts…..In Motor-Boating on the Tsangpo, she writes……eyeing monkeys, ogresses and the ferment in the prayers of boatmen on the silent river.

The poems Old maps of Hindustan and Images of 1857 show artistry in poetry. India within the Ganges and India beyond the Ganges…hand-coloured by widows and orphans is a poetical imprint and so is…the denouement-sepoys blown from cannon tops. Telegraph caravanned the news science mastering raw emotion…

There are a series of poems, which seem more personal. The poetess emerges as very "woman", "an entity so many". In the poem Internal Emigration, she writes….You are the woman singing under water imagining the fishes entering her as she watches her murderous lover sing a little water song to her drowning knowing she will live in spaces unseen to all but her, a complete celebration of her sovereign state.

In a poem entitled Freedom, the poet writes…I am confrontation…wanting wanting that white engulfing light…. rising up, space trucking, defiant. She talks of. …Silence ……the perfect rest for tired voices.

Only a woman can be objective about a relationship. which she does well in saying….I cannot believe how the years neatly cut their lines around our trunks like old trees, and yet our not growing stronger. Further……where we search for those primordial husbands and wives blessed with mutual satisfaction, serpentine limbs entwined in memorial halls.

On reading the poem, Two Faces, I got flashes of sensibilities seen in some Latin American poets. It says…precise, he knows exactly where the excisions should be…he engages in this bloody diversion, because it keeps him in touch.
The depiction of Gandhari as…. You wished for a dam of containment that could see your children play and not lie unfeeling in silent slaughterhouses…is indeed beautiful.
Concluding this review, I would like to talk of her very first poem in this collection called Tharawad…"why", you ask "this search for being in a shaded house where the green slime reaches out of unused wells?" This sums up her quest, exploration in reminiscence. I did not subscribe to the slotting of her poems, which Keki Daruwalla referred to as "neat". I felt that the headings of the three sections were far too naïve to accommodate the brilliance of her poems. A great book to read and possess!

Introducing Sri Lankan literature to the world
"Sri Lankan English Literature" and the "Sri Lankan People 1917-2003," by Professor D.C.R.A. Goonetilleke published by Vijitha Yapa Publications was launched on February 16 at the auditorium of the National Library Services Board.

Chief Guest at the launch, Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Secretary-General of the Peace Secretariat recalled the days when Professor Goonetilleke and he had read English together at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya. He pointed out how long it takes for a literary tradition to mature, given that the tradition of our literature in English is of comparatively recent origin. University teachers in Sri Lanka shoulder a heavy teaching load he said, commending Professor Goonetilleke's scholarly achievements.

Dr. Lakshmi de Silva, who also addressed the large gathering present on the occasion, illustrated how Professor Goonetilleke's books such as "Salman Rushdie" and his edition of "Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness" had won high praise from famous critics abroad and how effectively Professor Goonetilleke's anthologies of Sri Lankan literature had been able to introduce our literature to readers in South Asia and in the developed world.

"The vicissitudes that the nation has undergone and their effect on our writers as well as on our land is a major concern of the author. Consequently the book is rich in thinking points and of course talking points. It is also rich in information - presented in an attractive style that makes for rapid reading, and I am sure scholars, readers and writers will be grateful to Professor Goonetilleke for the meticulous attention paid to what seems to be every writer in every genre. It is a massive work and a great service to us and to future generations," Dr. de. Silva said.

Professor Goonetilleke explaining his purposes in writing the book said he had written not only a literary history but also a cultural and social history, confronting the key events of our time such as Independence, the social revolution of 1956, nationalism, the insurgencies of 1971 and 1988-89, and the ethnic conflict, as recorded in the literature. He was addressing not only those interested in literature but all those concerned about Sri Lanka.

An insight to life's many issues
Footprints reviewed by Sirohmi Gunesekera
"Lord, you said that you would always walk by my side, but in the hardest times of my life, I saw only one set of footprints in the sand. And the Lord replied, "My child, that was the time I was carrying you.."

It is the spiritual force that underpins the magazine "Footprints", a quarterly publication by an Editorial Committee headed by senior journalist Louis Benedict. The thought-provoking articles range from "Interpreting the Bible", "Reflections on Independence" to "Your Health".

The twenty pages of the magazine attempt to provide various insights. Louis Benedict in "Tsunami - the Death and the Resurrection" gives a hopeful message in line with Christian thought when he concludes "It's like the death and resurrection.

If some 200,000 people died in the tsunami catastrophe while millions were left in destitution and despair, then the resurrection has come in the explosion of giving." The magazine is well laid-out with snippets from the "World Scene" breaking up the serious articles.

From the Pope as a pilgrim at Lourdes, there is information about the Kyoto Treaty and also how the former Nicaraguan leader has asked for forgiveness for abuses during the Marxist revolution.

Vivian Pulle in "The Call and the Struggle" refers to "This growing Self is a dangerous enemy.. needs to be disciplined. Because of its very nature, it seeks to destroy all of our motivations and our idealism.. "

From Christianity to Sri Lanka as a nation state, the magazine carries "Reflections on Independence" by Allenson de Silva, advocating the need for a meritocracy and a combination of hard work and honesty.

He refers to the need for greater understanding and dialogue for peace in the country. Shyamali Puvimanasinghe's article, "Friend, lend them your ears" is both beautiful and practical suggesting what any kind-hearted soul can do to help the tsunami victims.

Vinith Vikram has written at length an article on the Praise and Worship Services which have become popular in Sri Lanka as elsewhere. It is written with an understanding of how people who are born into Christian, specifically Catholic, families find it difficult to identify with "charismatic" trends.

The author explains how the charismatic movement opens minds and hearts to the Holy Spirit. The aspect of Praise is highlighted instead of grumbling and petitioning God all the time.

The writer says, "Whatever their sufferings, the spirit of total surrender and thanksgiving it engenders, brings about a tremendous peace in the hearts of participants."

He concludes by saying that "the extent to which everyone becomes brother and sister of all - not only in the meeting place but in real life as well - will be the ultimate, acid test of the sincerity and quality of one's worship."

Edwin Mendez writes of the need for including the "Differently-abled" in society and draws on the Bible for his inspiration. "Mission Statements" is taken from Fr. Egerton Perera's "The Marvel of Being Human" and is as always, thought-provoking while being concise. An article on how Fr. Damien, a clinical psychologist in Jaffna is counselling the tsunami victims is followed by "Short Notes" referring to Ecumenism or the coming together of different denominations of the Church of Jesus Christ.

"Footprints" Volume 2 No. 2 provides stimulating reading for the serious-minded. Perhaps the magazine can also carry articles by non-Christian believers in a God in future issues, thereby broadening its scope. Those interested in obtaining a copy of Footprints could call 2583586 for more information.

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