A discerning spectator am I;
With a chisel in my hand;
To carve out the blank canvas;
In the tunes of tandem waves;
For the tumultuous beings;
To read out the unspoken!
(Perveiz Ali, Fractious Mind)
Man is the product of his thoughts and thoughts are products of circumstances. Circumstances themselves, covertly or overtly, are products of human minds. Hence; thoughts spring from, or at least are influenced by, circumstances and circumstances in the same way can be made or modulated by thoughts of men. This indicates that man can be the product as well as the architect of circumstances.
This thought-circumstance relation depends up on the nature and caliber of men. Strong men try their best to shape the circumstances as per the desired ends and the weak ones get carried away by the circumstances. Nevertheless, the general rule is that whatever the mettle, material and mental capabilities of a man he cannot remain unaffected, and uninfluenced by the circumstances around.
Perveiz Ali –the author of the book Fractious Mind – it seems from the contents of the book, is the type of man who is on a mission mode to change the pathetic state of affairs of the geographical and demographic part of the world in which he finds himself. The circumstances which are the creation of the thoughts and minds of people who see nothing beyond their personal gains and for those ends can butcher and brutalize any or every other man, as they are doing without mercy.
By going through the contents of his book it is clear that the circumstances have hurt his heart and mind so adversely, as it has done in case of the majority of the people of the Himalayan state, Kashmir. But majority of the people prefer to silently bear those circumstances or when they start to change those circumstances they apply the methods which are less effective and at times damaging as well. Perveiz Ali, on the other hand, has chosen a better method. He has chosen the might of his pen to express the pain of his people and nation and his desires and dreams to change the conditions towards better for them.
Perveiz Ali is the real son of Mother Kashmir. He is what his writings are and his writings in the Fractious Mind are nothing but explicit depiction and expression of the pain and privations which the people of Kashmir suffer from. It seems that his keen eye has missed nothing while giving shape to the collection of his poems. The brave and bold language he has used and the brevity and frugality he has applied in choosing his words is a clear sign of a literary genius in making.
He rightly begins Fractious Mind with the theme “Who Am I”. In this he has fixed his role for the society and the nation. Indeed, it is the best way to start a literary work, and any pursuit of life because before knowing other people and circumstances one must know himself and his role. He must have the knowledge of his merits and limitations, his compulsions and curiosities. In this very poem he is clearly defining his roles and duties by saying “I am a star of my parents, I am a teacher in my society, I am a writer of my conscience” and “I am a citizen of my society”.
After chosen his role he has moved accordingly in a systematic way writing about every face and facet of the life of his people. He has dealt the issues and emotions of individuals and all other issues related to the collective life of human race in general and of his nation in particular. He directly or by implication wants complete provisions of rights, facilities and luxuries which have been denied to his people and which civilized people of the democratic world are entitled to receive.
While on the one hand he is concerned about, and adamant to change, plight of his Himalayan State on the other he depicts his helplessness, and the helplessness of its people, in these worlds, “In the mesh of illusions, depressions and imaginations, Where literature is added every day, Like a flood of water full of impressionable link What role shall you play … the creator or the reader? In a day and night filled with black and grey”
Calling Kashmir issue, the main theme of the book, a conflict realistically is an understatement. The pain, pestering, suffering and servitude of the people make this issue a conglomerate of conflicts. There are conflicts within conflicts and conflicts outside conflicts each leading towards death and destruction. The individual life has been turned into collection of conflicts and is so true about the collective life. All these conflicts spring from the unresolved nature of the Kashmir issue. This terrible state is expressed under the rubric “The Paradise Lost” as “…. Not the wanton murders and bloodshed of now; our streets and parks stained red from blood! Is our innocence forever lost to greedy manipulation? What became of our humanitarian zest? Robbed of our purity and chastity by looters; is this the game that we now play? The shroud of death spreads over the land. The promises of a glorious past now lost; new generations are deprived of a great promise. Our Garden of Love is now a land of gravestones. Who shall mourn with me over the Paradise lost?
The poem, “Blood Rain” further adds to depiction of heart wrenching pain of people of Kashmir. Rain which is a sign of blooming life in Kashmir is a signal of crying. He writes, “….Droplets of rain becomes blood. Stinging; my tears now bloody as the rain. Wounds, Open and burning as they run red. Recriminating; my soul as shame fills my being, Earth, Opens her arms to welcome me. Mud, Oozes into my mouth slowly, Taste, That of blood soaked in earth….”
The machinations and manipulations by the people in power have been well covered under the themes like “Vote for Truth” and “Ruminations”. Besides, this human emotions and occasional moments of joy have also been expressed by the author with grit and gusto of a mature poet. One gets lost in the realm of beautifully created art work based purely on the circumstances and the desire to change those circumstances. The debut book of the author has truly signaled the arrival of a literary genius.
Having said that there are areas where things seem falling below the expectations. In a few places the poetic taste appears missing and it seems a work of prose. One feels disappointed about not to find a separate poem under the rubric “Hope”. The theme “Aspirations Inherited” does not substitute the need for inclusion of a poem titled as hope. Aspirations philosophically speaking belongs to selected few, common people simply have hopes. The people under conflict have more hopes than others. In this great work where almost everything has been covered leaving topics like hope, desire and dreams separately is one feels bad about.
Moreover, as the author has given due space to women, their values and issues, in the book he has left man almost untouched. Man, in the form of a father, brother, friend or a teacher. In a collection of 76 poems, one poem could have been exclusively reserved for these men and relations of men. The author here has worked on the expected lines where some people have the knack of given women and their issues precedence and men not even considered.
By and large, considering the book is first for the author, we can afford to overlook some of the unintentional flaws. He deserves to be appreciated. For a nation which is suffering in every way, and from all the sides, people like the author of Fractious Mind deserve to be recognized, appreciated, acknowledged and supported.
They say in the times of universal deceit saying a word of truth is a revolutionary act. In that sense the author’s work is a collection of revolutionary acts. In fact, each poem is a revolutionary act. We should not waste any time in according due recognition and respect to the author. Many a times we disappoint creative people by not recognizing their works in time who once disheartened stop raising the issues touching common masses in their art works. This should not happen anymore.
Before concluding this peace with the few lines of the author, let me congratulate him for achieving such a great feat. Wish him all the best and hope he continues his literary and revolutionary acts.
For God’s sake!
Bring back the glorious past,
That of Heaven on earth, that was so blessed,
A paradise of peace with beautification worldwide!
Oh God! Would that Kashmir once more glowed!
With calm beauty in every nook and corner,
A sense of patriotism in each heart and mind,
ABOUT REVIEWER
Fayaz Ganaie can be reached at fayaz.greatstep@gmail.com
