Name of the Book: - The Journey
Name of the Author: - Somola Ningthoujam
Genre: - Poetry
Year of Publication: - 2017
Publisher: - Maibam Mandakini Devi
ISBN: 978-93-5268-692-6
Price: INR 195
The Journey is not just a compilation of poems; it is yet a bunch of emotions exploded as written words. Like a journey of a person blended with various events and happenings, “The journey” is a blending of different colours giving a beautiful texture. The Journey, written by Somola Ningthoujam and forwarded by Anamadheya Kumar is knitted with 35 poems relatable to everyone. It opens with the poem The Swan and closes with Spirit of Liberation.
Some of my favourite poems include The Swan, The Destiny, Man, Insomnia, Heaven of wicked, Good Bye, Yearning for Love, A Lone Traveller, and Wounded Heart.
The Swan is beautifully crafted with the use of simile. The author has used the figure of speech to bring for the readers the beauty of the swan, which is never seen before. The poem that begins with “Looks like Heaven has come down on the earth.” ends with “After crossing the dark and silent woods.” has heart captivating lines.
“Spreading up her white feathers
Like the soft petals of the lotus” is one such pair of lines. Is the author trying to infuse its readers that if we step out of a long turmoil or fatigue walk or something grim, everything is beautiful? Because after crossing the dark and silent woods, the author found a kind of relief to see the swan moving like the queen with elegance and pride, somewhere in Polska.
As I have said earlier that The Journey is a blending of different colours giving a beautiful texture. Thus, the author doesn’t stick with only describing the beauty of nature. There is yet another beautiful poem titled The Destiny. The poem is unfolding the meaning of life, which changes from phase to phase with only thoughts remaining unchanged. We long to be with our dear ones but there is a journey ahead and sometimes we bewilder if we can really complete the journey? The journey of life as some people say is a voyage in a mysterious sea and not all the ships succeed to reach the shore but this is life and “Troubles may come in life, to face it, is the only way…” with faith in the God we need to move on and must live this life to fullest.
The poem Man is loomed with three stanzas. In the first stanza, the poet says that the dark world becomes darker with the presence of people two dual characters. And in the second stanza, with a similar mood of the previous stanza, the poet says that human mind or sense is conquered by material desires. The dark world is ruled by man like animals. But there is sudden change in the mood as we go on to the third stanza; in it we are given comfort saying if we are with Heavenly Father, for the dark world we not the victim. And In addition, we will have brighter path.
There are also some love poems. One of them I would mention here is Love’s Sake. It is beautifully written with the opening line “Love me for love’s Sake. And I should say that the kind of love what is mentioned in the poem must be sought by everyone.
I cannot say that all the poems are related to all the readers, but one or the other poem will be definitely touch the readers. For example, a person suffering insomnia will be touched by the poem titled “Insomnia” in which the author says:
“…the pillow
That once comforts you
No more provides the warmth
and the same pleasure.”
What really happens in a sleepless night is vividly described. And one can clearly visualize what really insomnia is.
The poems are of great literary value. It will keep readers in the grip till the end. The book is worth reading and must be read to explore the poetic ingredient present in it.