Composed by: Dr Merry Baruah, Assoc Prof, English Dept, Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam India
I stand beside the ancient river
Since long,
Quiet witness to history
Of changing times.
It’s quaint people
Long time back
Remained hidden beneath
My green embrace.
My hills enriched
With a sylvan touch
Housed beings
Of myriad types.
Then came the kings
With mercenary dreams
Mapped the earth
In their quest for gold.
Humans and non- humans alike
Were swept away
In the gilded tales
Dreams and more dreams
Shredded my greens
Till earth lay
Bruised, by the mighty river.
From yonder came
White men
With a baggage
Of knowledge, of another kind
In pursuit of their ElDorado
Molested my virgin
Territory.
I stood trembling
As machines mapped
My contours
Ravaging the green
Making way for my growth!
The river kept flowing
Through all of this
Like the blue God
Swallowing up all refuse
Spilled over
By the excesses
Of civilized ways.
I stand today
Muted
Midst the cacophony
That floats in the air
Bemoaning my green days
To be seen nowhere.
Skyscrapers rise into ether
Flaunting glittery shimmer
When the evening sun
Drops into the bosom
Of the old river.
Days are a chaotic chorus
In want of a soothing melody
To console the lost soul
In the maze of civilization.
My children
Humans and non-humans
At strange loggerheads
One thriving
At the expense of the other.
Old river flows
Quiet, burdened with memories
While I, stand lost
Midst tales and dreams
Of elusive growth!
Reflections from the Heart- Anthology of 100 Poems by Dr Bhaskar Bora, Merry Baruah, and Santanu Phukan easily emerge as one of the scintillating displays of raw emotions emanating out of the heart of these three poets. This anthology, containing 100 mesmerising poems, makes the readers anticipate every line when they are being read which reiterates the thrust it exerts. One can find a gripping and potent force which belies the surface of the anthology thereby making it situated right in the hearts of the readers. As nonchalant as it can get, the poems that this anthology carries, open up a multitude of ideas and emotions that these poets nurture in their minds and soul. They, at once, make the readers introspect and reflect upon the myriad ways in which life can lead to the life of an individual. Anyone familiar would Bhaskar Bora, one of the writers of this anthology, would know how troublesome and painstaking his life has been. But, through the poems which are on show for us, the readers, in this anthology, he has almost demolished and dismantled the hurdles of life to emerge as an example; an epitome of unflinching determination and untainted courage. The poems become emblematic in nature, in that, they are so deep in their thoughts and so relentless in the ways they are presented to the readers.
The foreword to the book, written by the eminent North-eastern writer, Mitra Phukan reiterates the structural base of the poems which are the cumulative outcome of the different sweet and bitter experiences of the three poets in their lives. The ups and downs, the verisimilitude of experiences that the three poets of this anthology have encountered in their lives have indeed paved the way for their emotions to take shape of the poems in this book. Significantly enough, the poems, of that, although very personal when it comes to the experiences of the poets, contain in them the trait of being ubiquitous in nature. One can feel the influence of these poems in the common-day living of every individual which makes the readers comprehend the inherent essence which every poem carries within its lines. That said, the poems also contain an essence of being commonplace in nature, in that, they can easily be grasped and comprehended by any individual. The anthology can be called exquisite in its outlook and intense in its presence in terms of the depth it carries in it as the poems are the result of the experiences of the poets, some of which are soul-stirring for normal readers.
The anthology gets divided into three parts with the poems of Bhaskar Bora covering a major chunk of the anthology. His poems, in particular, not only act as motivation for the readers but also provides them with the space to deeply contemplate the pain which he has endured in his life. The poems, thus, can easily be regarded as the totalising result of different lived experiences and situational circumstances which pioneered the feelings to take the shape of words, and finally into poems. A doctor by profession, to have led his life in a wheelchair after some kind of difficulties related to neurosurgery, is indeed heart-wrenching. Poetry, then, can be said that, acts as the outlet for him to vent out his turmoil and the emotions of the mind. A lot of poems in this anthology by him depict the angst the poet has gone through in his life which makes the anthology even more fast-paced in its approach. Although the fatal neurosurgery complicacy led to disability in terms of making him immobile, it was poetry and the emotions of his heart that laid the foundation for engaging in creative output. Although he was immobile physically, the poems penned down by him have well and truly made him move places in the hearts of the readers. The poems, if they are to be discerned, are equally inspirational and soothing as there is an air of homely atmosphere in their presentation, some of which concern his family members. Poems like “A Moment or Two,” “My Land of Dreams,” “The War Within” etc. speak of the versatility that the poet has showcased while flaunting his artistic genius.
