Panjab Moods is a collection of poems
that deal with various moods and modes of Punjab, one the most culturally,
materially and even spirituality rich state of India. The fantastically written
blurb clears the poetic motive of the book:
Panjab is one
wholesome movement, extended adagio in the eternal music of Indian nationhood.
Those who know the land know to know it in its Himalaya fresh airs, pastoral
surreal scenes, the fertile fields and that one off hearty JAT JIGRA. Those who
don’t may get a first introduction in the pages of this book per bons mots- the
literary adagio. (Blurb)
The Author’s note
is also worth reading for the Indian English Scholars chiefly those who have
developed a peculiar kind of distaste for the Indian English poets and their
visions as well. Once again, Satish K. Shukla has raised the question of
expected seriousness of Indian Writers in English who “are blandly poor, both
in themes as in syntax”. He has justifiable criticized such “Indians” who “have
at best learned Pidgin English, remarkably poor in colloquialism and Idiom,
both together building the backbone of any literary language and without which
no ‘learning’ can flower and fruit”. And this context “the language of most of
the Indian English poets suffer “solecism”, malapropism, bad punctuation is
remarked by him.
He has
considered his poetry volume as an “extraordinary initiative” (which is
advocated by him) as an immediate redressal of persisting imbalance in matters
English Language and progress is at stake…”
He also considers
that his book “will lighten the students’ burden “somewhat”, at least make sure
they learned English language via material which is nearer to their sights,
hearts and minds than all the Othellos and Hamlets which anyway teach but human
insufficiency…”
The self-laudatory
proclamations in which the author on one hand terms his poetic attempts as “extraordinary”
and on the other trivializes this
“extraordinary” initiative, as an initiative as that will merely lighten
the student burden”. The author is not fully confident about the responses or impact
of his sincere initiatives? Or has he too not come out of the conch shells of
phobia which made panicked most of Indian English professors and authors for
decades who have criticized Tagore, Ezekiel, and other translated poets and
writers for their English language skills, however the criticism ended with the
passage of time but not surely the
popularly of afore mentioned writers.
At first, the
poet Shukla has to know that his self proclaimed extraordinary initiative is
not a new one in Indian English writing. Innumerable poets have brought out
countless anthologies of such kinds. Poets from Orissa, North East and Bengal
have remarkable anthologies of poetry and criticism all in standard Indian
English. Even in Panjab, Prof. Hazara Singh has done commended service to the
Muse and prose and Mother Earth by penning qualitative poetry and anthologies.
However, the sentiments of the
poet shared in the poems are well-composed and equally well expressed. All 43
poems of the book are soaked in the fame of Panjab. The most beautifully penned
poems are the poems on the five rivers of Panjab- titled “Satluj, Beas, Chenab,
Ravi and Jhelum”. One can enjoy all the seasons of the State by going through
the poems as well as can have a very graphic glimpse of the state by the
perusal of the collection. In fact, these poems are encyclopedic in range and
will surely not just “lighten” him but will enlighten him with knowledge about
literature, society, History, Geography and tradition of the great State.
The language of the poet is
remarkable and the style is impressive. The poems Guru Arjun Dev, Guru Tej
Bahadur, Guru Gobind, Panjab Holocast, Khalistani and Neo Panjab are some of
the finest pieces of the book. I must congratulate the poet for such a nice
poetic volume.
