Mangalore: I Came to Seek Inspiration from Konkani Poets - Gulzar

Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Jul 9: It was an evening of intellectual enrichment as renowned poet, script writer, director and lyricist Gulzar delivered an inspiring talk on the nuances of poetry, as part of the James and Shobha Mendonca Endowment Lecture on Poetry-2012 at SDM College here on Sunday July 8. The talk was organized by Kavita Trust.

Gulzar's talk on poetry was not only enlightening, but also entertaining and a delight to all those present. The entire talk, chiefly in Urdu, was lively, interspersed generously with thought-provoking and delicate poetic verses ('shayaris') and a dash of humour, complimented by an animated, informed group of listeners.

Addressing a packed audience consisting of his fans, the litterati and poetry enthusiasts, Gulzar began by thanking Kavita Trust for orgnizing the talk. Referring to a statement made earlier in his introduction by William Pais, trustee, Kavita Trust, wherein he termed Gulzar's presence in Mangalore as a 'jackpot' for his fans, Gulzar said in a lighter note that he was happy to a be strong 'horse' that could be a 'jackpot' for Mangaloreans.

Referring to some of the noted Konkani poets who were present on the occasion, he said he had come to take inspiration from them. "What inspiration can I give you, it is I who have come to be inspired from the Konkani poets," he said.

He said it was a tough task to define poetry, and that it is like life itself that goes on, finding its own way. "One cannot define poetry scientifically or gramatically. It is like saying there's life because there's breath, but mere breathing is not life."

"There are rhymes and meters in poetry, but poets discarded rhymes long back. Then there came the blank verse, where meter, and not rhyme, was important. But now, even meter is diminishing in importance, and what we have is prose poem. We read J Krishnamurti and Osho and say they are poetic, hence, poetry is all about the feeling, the 'ehsaas'," he said, citing a descriptive passage from Thomas Hardy's 'Two on a Tower'.

Poetry "kabhi music ka haath pakadleti hai, kabhi painting ka," (poetry goes hand in hand sometimes with music, sometimes with painting) he said, adding that one cannot put boundaries on poetry.

"Poetry is ethereal, it is found in the most ordinary moment. We react to a moment physically and not emotionally, but beyond the physical is a different experience - the feeling of pain. It is the pain that inspires a poet or a painter to expression. It is like boiling water in a closed container, it wants to break out and escape from the lid," he said, quoting the following lines of his poetry:

"Ek khayal ko kaagaz per dafnaya to
Ek nazm ne aankhein khol ke dekha
Dheron lafzon ke nechey wo dabi hui thi
sehmi si
Ek madham si
Ek awaaz ki bhaap udi kaanon tak
Kyun itne lafzon main mujhko chuntey ho"

"The poet is in a dilemma - he has to express his thoughts without actually expressing them in clear terms. He looks up to see whether his readers understood his meaning. Whereas, a prose writer, fiction writer and historians can reveal what they have to say," he said.

Reiterating the earlier point that poet finds poetry in ordinary things, he again recited heart-touching lines of a woman lighting the lantern as the evening shadows lengthen. She is waiting anxiously. The lantern burns and gives light, unlike her heart which emanates only smoke when it burns for her beloved.

He went on to give yet another example, of a flame, beautifully describing the way it shivers and dances delicately in the wind. "Poetry is like stretching yourself after a good sleep. It emerges slowly."

He said the feelings that a poet expresses are present and felt by everyone, but one needs to be aware of them. A woman who is constantly taunted by her mother-in-law for not bringing enough dowry unknowingly traces the shape of a necklace on her dinner plate. The feeling of pain is inside her. "Awareness of the pain is important, and next comes the medium which may be poetry or art," he said.

"Poetry has many faces - it may be epic, prosaic, direct, indirect - their sensitivity and delicacy are all different. They speak of the origin of that particular poem," he said.

"We can learn from Konkani how a language emerges from a struggle. A lot of injustice has been done to Konkani. It has no strong base like other languages, and has struggled throughout. It was a victim in the hands of foreigners too. This struggle is expressed in the works of Konkani poets. I congratulate all those who are working for the preservation and promotion of Konkani," he said, inviting a huge round of applause from the audience.

He went on to speak of Goan Konkani, which he said he loves and enjoys thoroughly.

He concluded his talk on the question whether a poet should write when his city was in turmoil, when it was being plagued by violence. "The poet expresses his pain inside, the pain he has assmililated," he said.

It was then time for question-answe session, wherein members of the audience asked him a variety of questions, from his views on translation, wherein he said it is not possible to translate every poem, to the difficulties in adhering to deadlines as a lyricist-poet. To the latter, he replied that a poet or a writer is a professional as anybody, and he learns to meet deadlines as he is paid for it. "I am satisfied with my work, and I stand by it," he declared.

Prior to the talk, sponsors of the programme and other dignitaries were felicitated, among whom were Shobha Mendonca's mother Celine Nazareth, Rohan Monteiro of Rohan Corporation, principal of SDM College of Business Management Dr Devaraj K, and noted Konkani writer from Goa Damodar Mauzo.

`Vinchnnar Kavita' - a collection of poems by Sahitya Akademi Award winner and president of Kavita Trust, poet Melvyn Rodrigues was released by Gulzar on the occasion, in the presence of his wife Averyl and son Gavin Rodrigues.

At the end, Melvyn Rodrigues, president, Kavita Trust along with other trustees presented him a copy of the book  'The Land Called South Canara' by William Pais, who had introduced Gulzar to the audience at the beginning.  

Kiran Parmar compered in Hindi, and also recited her poem on Gulzar. Singer Anita Dsouza who was among the audience sang a few lines from a couple of his popular Bollywood songs.

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