Creation and Criticism

Dr Sudhir K. Arora, the Editor-in-Chief of Creation and Criticism, currently holds the position of Professor of English at Maharaja Harishchandra P. G. College in Moradabad, affiliated to M. J. P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, India. He has authored several significant publications, including Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger: A Freakish Booker and Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English in Five Volumes. He can be reached at drsudhirkarora@gmail.com.

1. Being In All Beings

i walk

talk and do

but the robot

in me

makes me move

i learn

collect

recall

the facts

that are stored in me

information

is gained

by labour

but knowledge

comes out of love

love

that loves

Being

who makes me

experience the real

what counts

is knowledge

that lies within Being

that goads me

the way to wisdom

wisdom

that enlightens

removes the darkness

making me feel

Being in all beings.

2. She Is She: She Speaks

“Give me space

space not just to exist

but to live…

says Monika Verma

in Across the Vast Spaces”

“but to live”

what Monika?

live…

only live…

“to live” is not

life to be lived

life is life

for a woman

when she is free

to live with love

to live with peace

to live with understanding

to live with caring

so that

she may colour

the sky of her hopes

with the painting of life

and hoist

the flag of culture

of society

of spirituality

Yes, this is the festival

of freedom

Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava

but

don’t forget the power

of a woman

she also participated

in samudra manthan

appeared as Mohini

who assisted

in obtaining the amrit kalash

she has drunk

the poison

of her share

now it is the right time

for her

for her sisters

to share

the amrit

amrit of equality

amrit of justice

amrit of harmony

she knows

how to live

peacefully

purposefully

for the self

for the family

even

the bigger family

that is the universe

she is inferior to none

she does not care

if he is he

so what she is

she is she too

he is within she

if he is the father of mankind

she is the mother of mankind

then

acknowledge that

a woman is equal to man

equal in knowledge

equal in journey

equal in experience

don’t judge her

from the male specs

wear the specs

of human being

and then see her

and find her

equal in mind

equal in spirit

equal in contribution

so man, come, live

and let the woman live

with harmony

work together

create a new world

break the silence

create a society

where there will be

sanskars and values

that will make everyone

explore their selves

and their identities

in the seas of possibilities

yes…

thank God

she has drunk the amrit

she has become strong

enough to write

in the feminine ink

a new script

of life and love

on the canvas of the sky.

3. The Birth Of The Baby Poem

in the spring

an idea shoots

his arrow

strikes

the heart

enters

the mind’s cave

where he ejaculates

makes her pregnant

the pregnant mind

feels

labour pain

a lady doctor

is consulted

to avoid

any miscarriage

which occurred last time

the doctor

waits for

the natural delivery

but no choice

except

the cesarean delivery

the fetus is at risk

finally

comes the good news

of the birth

of the baby poem

who is ready

to begin her journey

in the world

where surgeons

are waiting for her

with surgical knives.

4. The Belief Of The Poet

the birth

of the poem

is celebrated

namkaran sanskar

costs

the poet too much

the poem

is the flower

that

comes

in the hands

of a botanist

who dissects it

its fragrance

fails to win

his favour

takes pleasure

in knifing

without

caring

for its cries

for appreciation

for him

it is anemic

it is poorly dressed

he suggests the poet

to dress it

in the branded brand

that attracts

the critical eyes

of the guys

but

the poet

gives an outlet

to his soul

without

caring for

the indifferent

attitude of the botanist.

5. Indian Poetry in English

Indian Poetry

in English

earlier followed

poets English

but now

Indian poetry

in English

is mature and profound

writes her own destiny

develops her own identity

in pre-Independence era

she sang the songs

of Indian culture

of Indian freedom

of Indian sky more and more

felt blessed

with Kashi, Derozio and Toru

and produced

Sarojini, Aurobindo and Tagore

now Indian poetry

in English

is in her modern attire

with Ezekiel and Ramanujan

she raises fire and desire

Ezekiel with ability

in his ironic idiom

reveals

the modern Indian sensibility

with his metaphor

of home and his introspective idiom,

R. K. Ramanjuan

articulates

his South Indian experiences

and then enters

the memory lane

where he sees the display

of cultural retrieval and gets name again

the candid Kamala Das

flows against the flow

of the river time

writes poetry

confessional and revolutionary

and creates women identity

Arun Kolatkar

experiments

in theme and form of poetry

while doing this

he gets

the visualizing power extraordinary

what though

poetry does not pay!

she offers a vision

and of hopes a ray

the future

of Indian poetry

in English

always remains

bright and worthwhile

as she has poets

with contents and style

right from the ghats

of Varanasi

to all the ghats of India

poets see and feel

the flow of the river

and then pen

pain, love, loss, memory

sing the song of life

sail the boat of life forward

and get award and reward

in 1981

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Jayanta Mahapatra

for Relationship

a poem about myths, legends and history

revealing Mahapatra’s craftsmanship

in 1983

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Nissim Ezekiel

for Latter Day Psalms

for his longing, belonging and identity

in 1984

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Keki Daruwalla

for The Keeper of the Dead

for writing the script of life and death

with irony, satire and the colour red

in 1985

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Kamala Das

for Collected Poems

for writing

on love, gender, sexuality

and search for identity

in 1987

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Shiv K. Kumar

for Trapfalls in the Sky

for using

irony, contrast and paradox high

in 1988

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Vikram Seth

for his verse novel

the Golden Gate

in 1994

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Dom Moraes

for Serendip

for searching

love, loss, alienation and meaning deep

in 1999

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

A.K. Ramanujan

for Collected Poems

for myths, history, family

and awakening

cultural consciousness sensibly

in 2012

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Jeet Thayil

for These Errors are Correct

for reflecting over

history, grief and love as project

in 2014

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Adil Jussawala

for Trying to Say Goodbye

for his themes of identity, loss and memory

in 2020

Sahitya Akademi

awarded

Arundhati Subramaniam

for When God was a Traveller

for singing the songs of

love, human experience and spirituality

in future

the Akademi will continue

to bless the Indian poets in English

with more awards for their poetic ability

for expressing Indian ethos and sensibility

this poetic river

with English banks

is the Indian English Ganga

that ever remains fresh and pure

and is celebrated

for her human values

for her cultural values

for her therapeutic values

surely

this English Ganga

will always flow

and go on her journey

people will always

search for the clues

of their blues

in the heart of this river

where flows

love, devotion, compassion

spiritualism and cosmopolitanism

with the spirit of

sarve bhavantu sukhinah

sarve santu niraamayah.