A WALK TO REMEMBER: A REVIEW OF GOPAL LAHIRI'S RETURN TO SOLITUDE

A WALK TO REMEMBER: A REVIEW OF GOPAL LAHIRI'S RETURN TO SOLITUDE

By Jagari Mukherjee

The last line of Gopal Lahiri's Introduction to his book of short poems Return To Solitude (2018) states that ,"I want to take my readers on a wonderful walk where a little rain is a downpour, where silence is a part of our essence, where a solitary mind is a chorus." Lahiri keeps his promise to his readers, taking them out on a walk where, akin to Wordsworth coming upon a host of golden daffodils, they discover a plethora of simple delights. The volume is a collection of haiku and other short poems, little miniature charms that have an overall tranquil effect on the reader:

 

red and russet

over tender green

blowing kisses

(63)

 

The colors used in the haiku--red and russet--are flamboyant in nature, and yet, in the very next line, they are balanced by the tender green. The gentle act of blowing kisses puts an apt finishing touch.

Many of Lahiri's haiku contain action words. But the action almost imperceptibly merges with the rest of the poem:

 

evening stars

ready to ink a beautiful night

sipping secrets.

(25)

Similarly, a jasmine tree waits to "burst into flowers", a few stars inhale the fragrance of the dark night, the poet's voice in the imperative asking the reader to open the window to listen to the pigeons, and diary pages flap on the writing desk. Thus, even within a short span of three lines, Lahiri creates bustling, busy worlds.

However, the poet does not neglect to portray the other side of nature--that which is red in tooth and claw. The opening poem of this collection presents a volta that jar the laid-back reader into wakefulness:

rainbow birds

dipping their long legs

skinned alive.

(11)

 

Other times, the volta occurs after the shock of an unsavory beginning:

stinks, filth and dust bowl

eclipsed by the glory of

an ochre red sun.

(72)

 

The poem mentioned above follows the format of a traditional haiku with a syllable count of 5-7-5. Lahiri's haiku are essentially modern in form and content, and his use of the traditional haiku form is an exception rather than the rule. Yet, there is an enchantment in some of the haiku despite their overtly modern content. The following haiku, besides being an example of such an enchantment, is reminiscent of e.e.cummings' famous line: "nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands."

the silence of rain,

fills my hands with darkness

records secret songs.

(13)

The act of recording a song places the poem closer to our time zonerather than being a throwback to the times of the traditional haiku.

In the last two poems, the poet observes his reflection in the mirror resembling that of his grandma (99) and the 'pure redness' of love between his parents.

 

Thus, the poet gently guides the reader back home from his walk. However, we only need to turn the pages: Return To Solitude is a collection that can be revisited again and again.