Print length : 98 pages
Publication date : April 9, 2021
Language : English
KINDLE EDITION Available in: India | USA | UK | Canada | Australia | France
When two poets – one from Kolkata and the other from Kashmir, merge their poetic voices together, believe me, one starts believing in magic! The City of Joy, Kolkata, proud of its lineage, pulsates and throbs, juxtaposed exquisitely next to the Paradise on earth, Kashmir, equally proud of its lineage. The Dal Lake, and Prinsep Ghat shimmer in golden hues as the twin pens script a saga of beauty and peace. Before our very eyes, the wilted flowers of memory are resurrected and get a makeover, drenched in hues of sublimity. One finds oneself trying to decipher the undulating contours and nuances in the poems as though counting the ripples and waves of the Lidder and Hooghly.
Playful and intense, real and surreal, nostalgic and wistful, the poems in this collection are a visual treat – it is as if all the senses are tingled and the olfactory senses, long-clogged get a new lease of life as the forgotten smells are remembered once again. All the ancient bruises and scars seem to get the much needed healing touch, as the fragrance of parijat and yambarzal [daffodil] erupts magically. In the backdrop the Hooghly and the Lidder continue to create an unending symphony – immensely soothing to ears calloused with years of a jarring cacophony.
So, get ready to listen to this disarming duet, which erupts from some innermost recesses of two sensitive poetic hearts, their alchemy almost palpable in these poems. Together they create new metaphors, and along the way, succeed in infusing jaded and tired symbols with a new and robust symbolism- and the captivated reader finds himself/ herself calmly drifting towards self-introspection and soul-stirring epiphanies, looking around with new eyes to find hope and innocence holding hands and pirouetting, silhouetted in a new morn’s eastern horizon.
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Talking Books with Gopal Lahiri and Santosh Bakaya
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Asha G Kumar –
Really loved these lines“It is really very difficult to choose my favourite poem from your poems on Kashmir, but I really loved these lines from your poem ‘At Kheerbhavani’ in From Prinsep Ghat to Peer Panjal .
“The huge chinar trees looked on with a phlegmatic equanimity,
and a squirrel stopped in its tracks,
eyes darting here and there, curious,
while I eavesdropped furtively.
A golden oriole hidden in the chinar trees sang a sanguine song soulfully.
A song about the sylvan past, which alas, did not last”
Amazon Customer –
What a collection of sublime poetryWhat a collection of sublime poetry the book is !
Both the poets have done a great job . One wants to keep reading and re- reading the poems , they leave you with a soothing effect .
Lahiri’s poem Chai Jai is so evocative a poem, with such powerful imagery that one wants to immediately dash to the beautiful place , and sip tea , taking in the exquisite decor and the breathtakingly spectacular ambience .
Blue Pencil has done a commendable job .
It is a wonderfully produced kindle edition enriched by some lovely pictures of Kashmir and Kolkata.
Both poets have turned painters painting Prinsep Ghat, the Alleys of Kolkata, the taxis plying the congested streets of Kolkata, Dal Lake , Lidder River , Boulevard, Kheer Bhawani ,Shankaracharya in such lovely hues that you want to book the first flight and touch and retouch , inhale the fragrance of the beautiful places.
You close the book with a sigh, craving for some more poems from the two poets.