Dr Santosh reviews Rosee, by Geethanjali Dilip, edited by Anindita Bose. The poems connect the world and reflect nature and human relationships, exclusively for Different Truths.
The 97 poems in this new book by Geethanjali Dilip have been very aesthetically strung together and edited by Anindita Bose, who calls it “a complete spiritual journey.” The digital cover art – a dew-drenched rose and a bud, has been exquisitely designed by Indira Kanagasabai.
Geethanjali believes that poetry connects the world, and she has made it her mission to see that it connects, and we find her doing that with an impassioned indefatigability. As curator of The Yercaud Poetry Festival, (YPF), she has launched anthologies “Plant Poetry (2018)” and “Float Poetry” (2019), “Ignite Poetry” (2020), “Breathe Poetry” (2021), and “Dream Poetry” (2022) in collaboration with several renowned poets, at the annual poetry festival of Soul Scribers Society, Salem.
Dr Koshy also says, “Robert Browning wrote a collection titled “Fifty Men and Women”, and so to end I iterate that here there are 97 poems, beads, prayers and songs (roseates), her ninety-seven men and women, or babies, to be enjoyed…”
In her Acknowledgements, she says, “Inspiration can knock on your door, window, heart, and soul anyhow. A falling leaf, a frond, a plume shed by a songbird or a noisy truck, or train, a pair of pigeons, or mere silence could prod a poet to quill, instantaneously.”
Here every word resonates with me; I have penned poems on all the inspiring things that she talks of—a falling leaf, birds, the feather of a songbird, and even a rumbling truck and a clattering bullock cart!
By the time one finishes reading the following Saki poem, [All – Seeing], one finds oneself swaying with her intoxicating words. A few lines from it.
“Wait dear Saki: I’ll take it slow, Just like there is no tomorrow, And imagine that the stars will descend, Here on earth as in your arms I bend, Saki you my wizard who kneads my soul, Till I sipped your truths I was a gaping hole, Of a hollow emptiness that lived mundane, And you brought me colours till I went insane, Let me take it nice and slow, And in your embrace let love grow, This wine you pour as passion into my being, That you have created me thus, you beloved saki my ‘all-seeing’
Then follows the second poem. One is inebriated as it ends:
See-Yous & Goodbyes “I see so many out there clinking chalices, through my vision’s limpid pool, Some transparent and glassy and others unabashedly truthful, Some indifferent and apathetic, topers, placidly cool, Some with silver and gold lacquered goblets lounging in that tavern, playing the fool, Some tattooing poems on their being with whatever their goddamn tool, Some dead to the world, hopelessly inebriated, goldfish dribbling spit and reeking drool, Oh Saki! All they do is drink their own blood sitting slumped on a bar stool, As for me Saki I’m here to talk to you with my eyes, As we both sing ‘comfortably numb’, in our sighs, Not with Floydian lyrics but with our tears, drifting in somber skies, We’ve both known and felt together our darkest fears, where the spirit dies,
In Filigree, she finds the goblet the “receptacle of His promise for a faraway paradise!”
“The goblet such a jewel to hold on to, Fine filigree carved with hands that do not drink, My heart constricts at that thought frothy with guilt, The chalice of crystal splinters in my eyes all my desperate swigs, Of emotions swallowed, tears fought, words gulped, ego throttled, … Pour me no more tonight, Saki. Let me hold this goblet brimming with my heartbeat in tune with His! It is the receptacle of His promise for a faraway paradise!”
In Gaze, she says,
“I need to hear the gurgling sound of that panacea, That leaves me deluded as I drift to a dementia, I know it’s late and the lights must be lowered soon, Saki my soulmate, don’t deny me, I need to hear those cherubs croon.”
In “Your Attention Please”
“Oh Saqi.... one full goblet of your attention please! Remove every crinkle in my soul, every crease!”
The poems in this section swirl with filigreed goblets, desperate swigs, and crinkling chalices of crystal splinters. Words such as ‘frothy with guilt,’ stay with the reader.
The second section is HEY ISHTAA (BELOVED)
drunk with Lord Krishna
These poems are reminiscent of the Bhakti tradition addressed to Shri Krishna, the poet’s favourite Divine Entity, or in other words, her Ishtaa, or beloved, through monologues, echoing the Sakha (friend)bhava (expression) as well as at times the Madhura (beloved) Bhava.
Here, she appears to be in a divine frenzy, making Him listen to her as her confidante, in a mood of surrender and deep love for the Almighty.
In Empty Me Completely, we find her beseeching her Ishtaa
“Empty Me Completely So much so that I’m a dry bone Then just drench me with your name, your blue endless void I am just thirsty as you are well aware I’m a dry well Ishtaa, fill me up as your pour your nectar on me And tell me it was worth being a desert For how else would I know that I am ready to receive you? Then let me flow blue, green, red, brown, grey to where you’ve left the salt of life There will I drown losing myself on your name Drunk to the madness of inebriation that I will become a cloud all over again.
The third section has Roseate Sonnets, a form created by Dr A.V. with the following rules: the sonnet must have two quatrains first, followed by a couplet, and then by a last quatrain that starts the first line with an R, the second with an O, the third with an S, and the fourth with an E to form an acrostic that reads ‘ROSE’. The Rose was chosen as an inspiration because of its enduring nature as a symbol in literature worldwide.”
Geethanjali has done full justice to the roseate sonnet form, and let me mention that the last quatrain of every roseate sonnet in her sonnets, forms a bouquet of roses, the aura of which envelops the reader unendingly.
Just an example of a ROSE acrostic:
Rising and falling with the moon’s serenade in space, Orbiting with silvery light as it hides its pearly face, Saudades rise from a whirlpool of memories that haunt, Evanescence of songs croon from this battered vessel gaunt. [Shorelines, p 98]
In the book, she has dealt with ‘the complexities of man-woman relationships in a very sensitive manner. Music is very much a part of her persona, and we can feel her pen singing on paper – pulsating and thrumming with a rhythmic ardour. A cascading lyrical cadence, intriguing imagery, nuggets of poetic wisdom, and deft brush-quill strokes, are the hallmarks of her poetry.
The book has a haunting appeal, and every poetry lover will find something to savour in it.
Cover photo sourced by the reviewer
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Very well composed.