Reviews, Vol. I, Issue I
“Warscape
Verses”: An Unleashing of Social, Cultural and Political Truths
According to the great English
Romantic bard William Wordsworth, “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of
powerful emotions”. Poetry has the irresistible and overwhelming power to
convey notions in an unrivalled manner supplemented with stark and gritty
images where its diction holds sway.
Often poetry turns out to be the valorous mode for expressing gruesome
contemporary realities which could make the foundations of the hegemonic forces
tremble. Poet Chandramohan’s “Warscape Verses”, an anthology of short, sharp
and witty poems deserves to be labelled as a humanist’s spontaneous reaction to
the realities around him through a medium which he reigns supreme, poetry.
“Warscape Verses” contains poems that speak a million truths about a world,
torn apart by the juggernaut of Globalization and Neo-Liberalism coupled with
the dominance of aristocracy where the Subalterns are relegated to the
periphery. Chandramohan asks grave questions at the Sate machinery which
considers capitalism as the sole panacea for all its maladies where a section
of the populace still engages in the futile search to find their roots amidst
the ghastly treatment meted out to them by the State in connivance with the
elites. “Warscape Verses” is thus significant for its candidness along with
contemporaneity and the poet remains vigilant in his representation of those
who are hitherto misrepresented.
Chandramohan’s language is simple and
direct and he never attempts to camouflage his strong feelings which need to be
expressed at its extreme. The poem “The Rape and Murder of a Tribal Girl” is a
brilliant satire on the apolitical middleclass which is controlled by the
neoliberal nexus of market forces and visual media controlled by capitalists.
Here, a tribal girl’s death goes unnoticed as the media have clear prejudices
which always result in negligence towards the lowest strata of our casteist
society. The middleclass’s hitherto
unseen enthusiasm in their protest which was historic after the Delhi gang rape
case and their continued silence after horrific molestations and murders of
Dalit girls in other parts of the country is scorned by the poet who sides himself with the
underprivileged. In the poem “Neo-Shambukas”, mythology is invoked to bring
into focus the never ending saga of discrimination. Indian mythology is
infamous for its partisan attitude towards the subaltern figures such as
Ekalavya and Shambuka. Chandramohan quite adeptly draws parallel between the
present and the yore as Dalits, and sexual minorities are yet to be recognized
as part of the mainstream society. They languish at the bottom of the social ladder
deprived of justice, equality and even basic amenities.
“Warscape Verses” contains poems such as
“Wet Dreams of Damsels” which is a clear indicator of the poet’s unflinching
stand on the issue of gender and society. A Feminist perspective is evident and
in the socio-cultural milieu of India, even women need to be categorized as
Subalterns when taken into consideration our society’s patriarchal value system
which never treats women on par with men. The present world order, which is
clearly dominated and ruled by the capitalist forces, witnesses the pathetic
scenario of nature being subjugated and exploited for the proliferation of
corporate enterprises. Chandramohan
flays Neo-liberalism and its market driven policies which is clear act of
swindling that could pave the way for the obliteration of natural resources.
Poems such as “Let Them Eat Pollution”, “Fire of Global Meltdown” indicate his
deep concern and anguish for the nature and mother earth. The global police,
omnipotent capitalist messiah the United States is severely condemned for its
atrocities that span all across the world and its global surveillance which is
an intrusion into the rights of people.
Chandramohan’s diction and choice of images quite magnificently creates
an aura where his thoughts are conveyed to the readers with inimitable
dexterity.
Marxism is a theory which has once
enchanted the entire world as the ultimate saviour but lost popularity and
charm as socio-political realities were much more intricate to comprehend than
the Marxists had thought it to be. Poems
like “Comrade: The Pentecostal Preacher”, “Are You Still Our Comrade” are
sarcasm at its best as it turns out to be an indictment of Marxism. Indian
Marxists failed miserably in their judgment of India’s socio-cultural nuances
as class compulsions, carried over from the western theoretical doctrines
clashed against India’s peculiar Caste system which added to the erosion of
popular support and confidence of Indian Communist parties. Chandramohan
ridicules their dogmatic rituals which deprived Indian communists of a clear
understanding of Indian caste realities which proved to be a major cause for
their decimation. “The umbilical cord of her brother / Twisted around her
neck”, these lines send a shocking wave across the readers’ spines as the
appalling reality of female infanticide is still continued unabated. The
pointed finger of the poet dares the reader to look deep into his own psyche to
comprehend the grim scenario we found ourselves in.
“Warscape Verses” is powerful enough to
disturb the reader and bring him/her out of complacency into the stark
realities of our times. Chandramohan is vociferous in his appeal to bring into
focus issues which are intentionally neglected as it goes against the unholy nexus
of the aristocracy and Capitalism. The poet is pithiness personified and often
his style is reminiscent of the great German playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht
who composed short poems which are stuffed with immense social truths and
messages. Tribals, Dalits, Homosexuls continue to be the outcastes of a
Democratic social setup which is sadly remains an issue unresolved. Such
sections are always finding themselves at the receiving end of the neoliberal
agendas which glorify the mantra of “development at any cost” a farce to the
core. The poet sings their songs and invites the rest to listen to those voices
and realize the ideological manipulations by the powerful sections whom the
State represents. Chandramohan finds a niche well suited to him in the world of
contemporary poets and his astounding quality of pronouncing the social truths
loudly makes “Warscape Verses” a book to be read, dwelled upon and its themes
to be disseminated.
About the Book
Title
: Warscape Verses
Publisher
: Authorspress ,New Delhi
Price
: Rs.195/--
ISBN-978-81-7273-830-3
Pages
:73
Reviewed by Hari Narayanan
Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, NSS College Ottapalam, Kerala
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