Strained Verse I wish Narendra Modi, and all the senior cops who twiddled their thumbs while Gujarat ran with blood, would read this book.
By KEKI N. DARUWALLA http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20050509&fname=Booksc&sid=1 AFTER GUJARAT AND OTHER POEMS by Seeme Qasim Ravi Dayal Pages: 57; Rs 90 I wish Narendra Modi, and all the senior cops who twiddled their thumbs while Gujarat ran with blood, would read this book. The same goes for the ministers who parked their backsides in control rooms and wouldn't let the police budge. Let them all read Seeme Qasim's poems and know how a Muslim lady felt those days. Her first poem displays a haunting rhythm: "After Gujarat, I remember the Saryu flowing Near an ornate temple the azaan travels into myself.... After Gujarat, I remember the Babri Masjid. Its black domes on the hillock/gaze past wire, guns and khaki." After Gujarat she remembers laburnums exploding from their buds: "After Gujarat, I remember frail Amma at her namaaz." In Being an Indian, she talks of her grandfather, "a Sanskrit scholar, composing his songs in Braj Bhasha and seeking pandits, astrologers." She can't understand the sectarian schism. These poems are intense, but strong feelings do not make poetry. There is an artlessness in some of Qasim's poetry, which shouldn't exist in a second volume. Irony and allegory would have been good weapons to use here. Some passages read like a journalist's report on a riot-stricken town. Thankfully, in its second half, Before Gujarat, her poetry mellows. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater? Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good! http://us.click.yahoo.com/pkgkPB/SOnJAA/Zx0JAA/yqIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Did you get this mail as a forward? Subscribe by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/join. Members are encouraged to post poetry, their own and others', respond critically to the poems circulated, and participate in discussions. Post via email at [email protected] OR online at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/post. ---theZESTcommunity-------------- [1] ZESTCurrent: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCurrent/ [2] ZESTEconomics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTEconomics/ [3] ZESTGlobal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/ [4] ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/ [5] ZESTPoets: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/ [6] ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ [7] ZESTAlternative: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTAlternative/ [8] TalkZEST: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TalkZEST/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
