A poem is a structure woven by units like sounds, phrases, pauses, punctuation marks and indeed aided by poetic devices. Devoid of above listed can only constitute a prose. Poetry is a special function of language. Fictional and poetic language transforms everyday objects into an image and every ordinary object is raised to the next higher level which to Shklovsky is defamiliarization. The poetic language is not meant to convey information but to draw attention for being unique in strict sense. Edmund Waller prepares us to react in actuality and factuality for something unusual for the reason the poet relies on destabilization. Poetic language which is the real debate must accord to Jakobson be equipped with selection and combination in order to reach closer to equivalence. Jakobson wants to convey that poetry is only a special and unusual mode of communication for it is created to establish aesthetic function than communicative function of language. This is what makes the language of the poem ‘poetic’ or ‘literal’.
Now let us apply the above parameters to Perveiz Ali’s Fractious Mind, published by Global Fraternity of Poets Gurugram (Haryana) in 2018 bearing ISNB 7893-83755-51-6. After reading 76 poems, I am of the opinion that Perveiz Ali has emerged as a Social Poet. I am no way categorizing the poets for the sake of making this review readable but only to register my modest observation. What all I have to put forth as a proof to claim my label ‘Social Poet’ I take his few important poems into consideration. Let us take: Oh, My Beloved, The She, Besides Me, Honour Her, You, and Thou Metamorphosed Me, you would perhaps second me in placing him as a social poet. The poet has approached human needs and is too much connected to the society of which he is a loyal representative. See this verse for example:
Oh, My beloved! Where are you, my dearest?
I recollect the passions shared in shadows
Hand in hand, firmly embedded in love.
Hand in hand though seems a simple expression of connectivity, but the latent melody in it is felt when this expression is analysed in the desk of Jakobson. It has selection of apt diction and combination of subtle feelings. It carries aesthetic function rather than being a model of conventional mode of communication.
The She, Besides Me is again a poem encompassing our entire social belt. From a mother to sister, teacher to first love and wife to daughter and finally a grand merger- Motherland. The entire poem is a social transition. Now let us again operate the verses of the bard:
That woman who loved me body and soul
She sacrificed to keep me warm
My Mother!
Again after a keen study of the verses in terms of intricacies, the poetic language is well over the routine communication. Loved by body and soul is not to be interpreted in terms of its communicative function but symbolic. The poet is fully aware of the fact that a mother loves the physical presence for she is one who nurses a tiny mass within her own frame. ‘Sacrifice’ ‘warmth’ are again dealt as symbol. The connection between a pulsating foetus and a painful womb is again neutralised by ‘warmth’. The delicacy of the verse must be felt. Poetry is to feel rather than to read for a mere rhyme. A cycle of changes is the theme of the poem and Perveiz has sincerely plunged into the profound depths of love.
One of the features of Perveiz’s effortless verses is the use of local narrative. In Blood Rain, Vote for Truth, Ruminations, Paradise Lost, Kashmir Delirium, Hate, Old Man’s Odyssey and Jingoism, Perveiz has reached to the soul of the society and as a sincere stakeholder his interest in the hierarchy binaries has set up his verses above contemporary poets. These are aloneness/ unity, martial law/ liberties, power/ poverty, deceptions/ insight, intellect/ illogical ideas. In each of these binaries, one term is privileged over the other. The poet has openly and honestly supported the theory of Binary, Reversal and Deconstructive reading which predominantly encourages us to understand how the less advantaged term is central to the dominant term. Parveiz has almost reached to tell us that deconstruction reading conveys a figural meaning and reverses the hierarchy.
The other part of this poetic collection is something more to cheer. Since Ghazal writing in English is still a challenge. English Ghazal has not yet touched the zenith yet the poet has tried his best to experiment. It is a must to do for the artists. Parveiz through his Ghazals have created a kind of say in terms of some basic requirements of Ghazal writing, yet lot needs to be done. Since Aga Shahid has opened windows for the generation X to follow him at least in the genre of Ghazal. Much has been done in this regard. Kashur Qalam-a literary forum, of which Perveiz is a core member, has done a lot of work in making English Ghazal a bit better in terms of its intricacies and structural beauty but lot needs to be done. The day is not far when this forum will bring before the public one such anthology to the satisfaction of the readers.
Perveiz has not forgotten to address the fellow poets of his nation. He has like a sermon on the mount of Imaginations summoned like minds to learn from his experience. Art of Poetry is a poem wherein, Perveiz Ali has shared his poetic evolution. For him poetry is not just fashioning of words but a sweet dialect that creates echo and ripple.
The Fractious Mind is in totality Perveiz’s door to peep through. His vision may be influenced by personal distortions and reading, but he has successfully brought himself on the threshold to be noticed. And how long he will keep his presence available only time can tell when he will publish more such anthologies in future. I wish him luck and success.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Mushtaq B.Barq is a Columnist, Poet and Fiction Writer. He is the author of “Feeble prisoner, “ Wings of Love” and many translation works are credited to the author like “ Verses Of Wahab Khar” and “ Songs Of Sochkral”
