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.