My Voice

A few lines of the great poet Ayyappa Panikker give an insight-

 

“The sky asked the earth again

Why are you, who do not lie still

Even for a day, wrangling with me?

 

The earth to the sky:

You cannot move

You cannot go anywhere

It is because of my rotation

That you rise and set.

Do you know it?”

(From the book, Patt Mani poovekal)

 

We make our home on the earth, but we think as if we are the sun. When earth rotates, we assume, we are rising. We imagine that we are making day and night.  Are we capable of doing something that is so sacred? Is it that  we are rising on the back of the earth like Barnacles live on the sea turtles?

The highest power human carries is the power of speech, which is called “shabd shakti”.

Poetics has discusses about  different aspects of Shabd Shakti. A number of definitions are given in our Kavya Shastra- poetics. The Kavya Mimansa (a book of poetics) says- if the feelings of poet cannot reach the common people- what is the use of him/her being a poet? In Harshcharit too, it is said, “What is the use of a language which cannot fit in this world?”

It means a poet has to do his/her KARMA -which is creation for the wellbeing of the world. That is why Indian poetics call a poet – Kavi- which is Drishta (a visionary). There is a saying which goes – a poet reaches almost everywhere, even those places where even the Sun cannot reach. So, it is the poet’s duty to bring out every single emotion, to give words to every feeling. Poem and pain are twin words. They are soul mates, made for each other or made from each other.

There may be some eyes which are waiting for such words which can help them to understand that they are not the only ones suffering. There may be a heart which is yearning to get a glimpse of those words which can tell their story. Moreover, poetry and pain are also identical words. How long can a poet run away from pain? He /she has to walk on fire…

Friends, poetry is above all pain. Kritya is again ready with new voices.

In this issue, we have a thoughtful article by Ayyappa Paniker about FUTURISM AND THE THIRD MILLENNIUM, In contemporary poetry we have Hussein Habaschis- (Kurdistan), MOHAN RANA (Hindi), Gopikrishnan  Kottoor (English), and young poets -Ananta Kumar Singh, Nyamthian Tangjang. In the section, our Masters, we are reading a few poems from Sringarapadyavali and ancient poetry.

 

I wish and hope this issue will bring a new and convincing vision to all of us.

 

Rati Saxena