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Review Of Poetic Flavour of K. V. Dominic–Article by Dr. Arbind Kumar Choudhary



Poetic Flavour of K. V. Dominic

Poetic   Flavour of K. V. Dominic

Arbind Kumar Choudhary

 

R. K. Singh,     D. C. Chambial,     K. V. Raghupati,   Mahashweta    Chaturvedi ,   Rita   Nath    Keshri,   Aju    Mukhopadhayay,  Harish   Thakur,  P. Raja, Jasvinder   Singh,  Anil     Kumar   Sharma,  C. L. Khatri,   B. K. Dubey,  K. V. Dominic  and   several   others   have   been   glittering   in   the   sky  of  the  creative   world   with  a   number   of   poetry   collections   to   their   credits.  K. V.  Dominic is   a    poet, a   critic, a short story writer   and,   above   all, editor of International Journal on Multicultural Literature (IJML), a   refereed journal   of   global   repute.  International    Poets   Academy, Chennai   has  conferred   upon   him   ‘Lifetime   Achievement   Award’   for   his   dedication   to   literature,   peace   and   global   harmony.   Dr.  Dominic   is   the  founder   secretary   of   Guild of Indian English Writers Editors and Critics and the editor-in-chief of Writers Editors Critics, an international refereed binaural journal. He is also the Vice–President of   International   Association    of    Poets,   Essayists   and   Novelists,     Bihar,   and   member of   the advisory committees of a   number   of    journals    and    literary   organizations.

What   appeals   his   poetry   to   the   muse lovers   is   his   candid   expression,  simple   language,   mind  blowing   thought,   and   innovative   ideas  that    provokes   the    imagination   of   the   muse  lovers   to   its   utmost   degrees.   His    dedication   to serve    the    humanity    for    its    prosperity  through   the   poems   reserves   his   berth   in   the   temple   of   fame    across   the    globe. His   minute   observation,   skilled    presentation,  provoking    painting    and    appealing    realism    make    him   a    great    poet   of   Indian   English   literature. His   poetic    prosperity   will   be   proved  a   milestone   in   the    poetic   world   of   Indian   English   poetry.

Plants and animals never divide

the earth  among  themselves;

What right has the moral man

to divide  and  own  this  immortal   planet?

(Dominic, Winged Reason 36-37)

Like   D. C. Chambial,     Dominic   opines   that   all   living   beings   except   human beings   can   never   think   of   the   earthly   division. But   human  beings,   though being   the   wisest   creature,   try   to   divide   the   immortal   planet. Ironically   the mortal   beings   divide   the   immortal   planet.  Plants and    animals   grow and blossom   for   our   sake. We, people, grow   for   our   sake   only. What   a   surprising irony   it is!  All   natural   things  are   the   sources   of   our   livelihood   and   pleasure.

The dancing of the plant;

the smiling  of  the  flower;

the chirping  of  the  bird;

and all  merry  cries  of  other beings,

herald Life’s  march  here.

(Dominic, Winged Reason 29)

The    dancing     of   the   plants, the   fragrance   of   the   flowers, and   the   chirping of   the   birds   provide   intense   joy   to   its   utmost   degrees   in  our   life. Like D. V. Sahani,   K.V. Dominic   finds   the   plants, the   animals   and   other   beings more conducive   to   the   human   beings.  D. V. Sahani  sings:

Make  every thing  in  Nature  your  friend.

It won’t let you down in your need.

It will give you the very best in it

And with raptures of ecstasy

Your being feed. (53)

All    natural   objects   are    for     men’s     use. The   plant   gives   fruits, the   flower gives     fragrance, the   bird   gives   melodious   song   and   the  animal   gives   milk   for   our   livelihood. Man   must   have   friendship   with   these   objects   and   make   the   earth   a   better   place   to live in.

My dear son, live in Karma,

love all  creations,

for I  am  in  everything.

(Dominic, Write Son, Write 96)

God   is   considered   to   be   the   most   powerful   being   of   the   universe. But   God has   himself   become      helpless   for   his   children. Human  beings    have   disobeyed   their   parent   and     are   madly   engaged   in   annihilation. God   instructs   us   to   love   one   another   because   he   lies everywhere   in   all   things. To   Choudhary,   God   is   a   saving    grace   for   those   burning   in   furnace.  It is   said   that   God   helps     those   who  help only    themselves. The  plants,   and   the   animals   complain   against    the   human   beings, the   worst   crooked   creature   who   cut   the   plants  and   eat   the   flesh   of    the   animals.  In    the   court   of   God,  human   beings   have   become      culprit . The   poet   writes:

Petitions come to me

one   after  another

from plants  and  animals.

All complain of

your cruelty  and  torture:

they have   no  food;

they have  no water;

they have  no shelter;

and not  even   air.

They plead   to me

to call your back;

save their  lives,

and thus  save  the  planet.

Kindly tell me, children,

what shall  I  do?

(Dominic, Write Son, Write 64-65)

The    poet   ridicules    the   modern    race    here:                                                               

Man, you are the cruelest,

you are the most ungrateful

of all God’s creations.

(Dominic, Winged Reason 25)

Man    is   the    prize   idiot   of   the   earth. All   objects   of   Nature   follow natural   code   of   conduct. Men   have   become   the   most   ungrateful  creatures   of all   God’s   creations   because   they   destroy    jungles,   kill   the   mute   animals   and   eat   their   flesh   and   establish   their   own  jungle   Raj    by   replacing    natural code    of   conduct. God   made   the   earth    and   men   made   the    country. God   made    men   and   men     made    caste, religion   and    nation. Surprisingly,    men,   being   a   minority   amidst   all   living   beings, rule   over   the   majority   without   fear. Men do  not   follow   the   universal    democratic    code   of   conduct   on  this   earth.

What right has the mortal man

to divide  and  own  this  immortal  planet  ?

What justice is there for the minority

to starve  the  majority?

(Dominic, Winged Reason 37)

The poet opines his philosophy of   beauty in this   stanza:

Bodily beauty is only one among the beauties;

It fades and decays as a flower does.

Who thinks of a flower when it is decayed?

The sun is beautiful but can you enjoy it at noon?

The objects of nature reveal its radiance and beauty.

Eternal beauty is in achievements eternal.

Handsome is he who handsome does.

(Dominic, Winged Reason 28)

Beauty   has    remained the   source   of   pleasure    from    times   immemorial. To   Keats, “a   thing   of beauty   is a joy forever.” To   Dominic  “Handsome   is   he   who   handsome   does.” To D. V. Sahani

Real beauty is not of

complexion, form  or  face.

But of that state of mind

In which ego does itself efface

which is verily love

which come from God’s grace

which make everything beautiful

and our life on earth blissful. (53)

To Dominic,   physical    beauty is   for   the   time   being   that   blossoms    and decays   as   a   flower    does. The   beauty   of   the   sun   reveals   its   radiance. All things   have   their     own   merits   and      demerits,   fragrances    and     ill-smelling.  Internal   beauty   is    forever. Like   Mahashweta  Chaturvedi,    Dominic   paints   a   terrible    picture    of   the   fair sex   who   has   been   treated    as     an   instrument   of lust and   sex   rather   than  the    counterpart. No   one   tries   to   peep   into   women’s   heart   and   mind. None   takes    notice   of   her   desires   moods, minds   and   feelings.

Women is the game!

Birth to death,

an instrument of lust

and hot-selling sex!

(Dominic, Winged Reason 42)

Like   Kamala   Das,   Dominic has   presented   a   gloomy   picture   of   women   community   that   require    right   and   liberty in our male   dominated   society.

Unfortunate crow feeds cuckoo’s chicks;

yet crow is  not  lauded

and cuckoo is extolled.

Crow’s counterpart dove;

icon of love and innocence.

Why is white attractive

and black disgusting?

(Dominic, Write Son, Write 57)

Ironically   the black and white  colour   have   been   designed   as   a   symbol   of   bad   and   good   by the   scholars. The    fair-comflexioned   bride   is  preferred   to    black. The   crow, an   icon   of   love   and   innocence, feeds   cuckoo’s chicks, yet crow   is   not   lauded. The   poet   raises   a   question  regarding   the superiority   of   white   over   black   and, lastly, advocates   that   handsome   is   that handsome    does.

Intellectual mafia

assumes omniscient;

exploits innocent people;

detracts them

from their creator;

makes them pessimists;

imposes their

obsolete philosophies.

(Dominic, Write Son, Write 37)

Politics   is   the   root   cause   of   all   our   sufferings. The   nexus   between the   politician, the   criminal   and   the   bureaucrat has   made   our   life  hellish   on this   garden   of    God. Like   Daruwalla, Choudhary, and    Chaturvedi,    Dominic believes   that the   dirty   political   game   has   made   our  life   worse   than   curse. All   those   who   are   innocents   or   ignorant   are   befooled   by   the   politicians   in the   name   of   prosperity   of the   race, religion   and   region. Choudhary   ridicules the   political    mafia   in   his   My Songs:

A wolf in sheep’s clothing

Sheds crocodile tears for the suffering.

O  Blood sucker of the sufferer!

Your name is Leader. (18)

Poverty and    unemployment are our enemy.   Ignorance   is our foe.                                 

Isn’t poverty the greatest enemy?

Why not fight against it

and wipe  out  destitution,

pointing guns,  rifles  and  missiles

at the  chest  of  the  poor?

(Dominic, Write Son, Write 66)

People    claim, condemn,  and   kill   each   other   on   the   name  of   injustice  and   inhumanity. Our   worst   enemy    is   our   ignorance, not the other beings. Our worst   enemies    that   are   poverty,   false   notion, ego, unemployment   etc.   flourish at   the   chest   of   the   poor . The   atomic   and  other   destructive   weapons   are made   on   the   name   of   security, humanity   and   prosperity   at   the   cost of the advancement   of   the   poor  and  the   exploited. Hence the   poet   appeals   God   for instruction   and   guidance.

God, teach me how to detach;

and also teach my neighbours

and millions of my brothers and sisters

to show love and mercy

to all non-human beings.

(Dominic, Write Son, Write 52)

Aung  San Suu Kyi, Asian Nelson Mandela, is   the   epitome   of   valour   who embraced   a   hellish   life   and   solitary   confinement   for   the   liberation of   the masses   from   the   dark   kingdom  of   the   dictator. Her   slogan   of   liberty   by adopting   Gandhi’s   doctrine   begged   Nobel Prize   for  peace   and   stirred   the fire   of    liberation   for   humanity, honesty and   harmony.

Suu Kyi, the  epitome of   valour,

showed her people through her life

liberty is born from the ashes of fear.

Her   twenty   years of   political   life;

more than  fourteen  in  solitary  cells.

(Dominic, Write Son, Write 53)

The Nobel   Laureate   Suu   Kyi   moulded   the   generation   for   peace, prosperity   and   pure   life. The   poet   glorifies   her   sacrifice   whole   heartedly.

The sun of knowledge

can never  be  eclipsed

by the  moon  of  ignorance.

(Dominic, Winged Reason 67)

Knowledge   is   our   best   friend   while   ignorance   is   our   worst   enemy. People   fall   into   misfortune   for   want   of   knowledge. The   light   of   the   sun enlightens   the   world   that   can rarely   be   eclipsed. The   moon of ignorance blossoms for want of the sun of knowledge. The   poet appeals to get more and more   knowledge to quench the   kingdom     of    ignorance. The   poet   is   optimistic that    sooner       or   later   the   sun of   knowledge   will   replace the   moon of   ignorance    for     the    restoration   of   the   kingdom   of    love, peace    and   universal   brotherhood.

Om is our breath;

a tonic to mind and body.

It’s   a celestial music

showering   manna  on  the  earth;

it gives  us  peace  and  happiness;

Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Om Shanti.

(Dominic, Winged Reason 66)

The    poet    wishes   to   fly   like   an   angel   to   instil    humanism in  the  communal    minds    and   also   wishes   to   replace   the   vicious   circle   for   favour   of   the   kingdom   of    wisdom. Like   an   angel,    the    poet’s    ardent   desire   is   to   revive   the   kingdom   of   wisdom   for   the   prosperity,    peace   and   universal   brotherhood. It   is   also the   duty of    the    poet   to   make   life    fragrant   for   all    those   who   suffer   from the   cruel   hands   of    tyranny, and   inhumanity.

If I could fly like an angel,

would   plead   all   prophets

to inspire   and   instil    humanism

in   million’s   communal minds.

I would   meet Gandhi too

who is weeping at his shattered dreams.

(Dominic, Winged Reason 21)

C. L. Khatri’s    verse, “Godsey killed you once / They kill you everyday” (30        ) finds    a   great     resemblance with   these   lines   because   Gandhi’s   dreams   of   Ram Rajya   has   already    been   the   story   of   the    past   rather   than   the   present.

K. V. Dominic   is   the   burning   voice   of   Indian    English     poetry   who has    been     perfuming   the   poetic   scenario   from   a    decade   with his melodious song, fragrant    feeling, racy   style, capital   ideas, and   philosophical   views. Like R. K. Singh, D. C. Chambial, R. N. Sinha,   Dominic   is   the   roaring   voice   of   the   creative   milieu   who   has   become   a   twinkling   star   in   the   sky   of   the   creative   world and   has   also   been   promoting   the   peeping    poets   for   poetic   perfection, prosperity    and    peace. His   forceful   voice   will   remain   ever   ringing   in   the   womb   of   time.

Works Cited

 

Choudhary, A. K. My Songs. Begusarai, Bihar: IAPEN, 2008. Print.

Dominic, K.V. Winged   Reason. New Delhi: Authorspress, 2010. Print.

—. Write Son, Write. New Delhi: Gnosis, 2011. Print.

Khatri, C. L.   Ripples in the Lake. Bareily: Prakash Book Depot, 2006. Print.

Sahani, D. V. Whispering   Silence. Gwalior: Amrit Prakashan, 2005. Print.

 

 

Dr. Arbind Kumar Choudhary, English poet &critic, is the Head of the Department of English, Rangachahi College, Majuli, Assam, India-785104. He is the editor of the research journals, Kohinoor (ISSN 0973-6395) & Ayush (ISSN 0974-8075).

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