Indian Poetry in English in the New Millennium: A Tour

2019

Abstract: Indian poetry in English is a thing of beauty that is enjoyed by a perceptive reader, especially if he is born and brought up in India and is in intimate relationship with nature surrounding him/her and culture he/she practices. Susheel Kumar Sharma and Manju Jaidka are two living Indian poets who reflect on natural phenomena in India that attract their attention: be it the river Ganges or the Shimla hills. The uniqueness in their poetic expression can be best evaluated through the application of tools of Indian poetics because Indian poetics relies more on intuition than on intellect. The aim of this paper use to revisit the poems of Sharma and Jaidka and explore the poetic beauty through the application of Indian theories: Rasa, Dhvani, Alamkar , Vakroti and so on. What comes to limelight through such a critical literary endeavour is the manifestation of Indian sensibility. Keywords : Indian poetics , Intuition , culture , Indian sensibility

Indian literature cannot be defined by its linguistic singularity; rather it celebrates due to its plurality. It is the literature which is being written in different languages of the nation. Therefore various attempts have been made by the scholars to discuss about the ethos behind the literature written in different languages. The contemporary Indian society is undergoing through some significantly rapid changes, therefore the depiction of the issues reflected in literature is also changing. The societal politics is in a position that the tradition of India has also been challenged. The colonial legacy and the fight to re-establish the identity was a common feature of the post-independence Indian literature. But the neo-colonizers have guided us to such a position that we even feel ambiguous in searching the right path towards identity. The Indian poetry of the contemporary age has nicely picked up such issues of the contemporary society. In this paper, an attempt has been made to discuss about how the poets have attempted to focus about the existence of the primeval feelings of being Indian through the poems. The established beliefs on the issues like society, identity, individuality, existence etc. has been challenged by the contemporary happenings. The poets of the contemporary India has tried to focus such issues including the challenges. By citing some examples of a few contemporary Indian poets, some of the major issues of contemporary Indian poetry will come to light and this will be helpful in further discussion about the present and future of Indian poetry.

The Creative Launcher

Indian English poetry with a view to achieving modernity, tries to do different kinds of experiments. Rhyme and Stanzaic forms had replaced free verse. Verbal melody came to be evoked through the use of alliterative words. The tone was one of the intellectualized irony and sarcasm. The stance of the poets was one of the complete detachment and objectivity. The other innovation of the modern Indian poets is the use of symbolism. The poets use modern techniques used by the film industry and advertising industry besides the stream of consciousness and free association of ideas. There is much “word hunting” and “image hunting” which reflects the medium of consciousness on the part of the poet. The Indian, poets therefore borrows words from their regional languages. To be Indian, poets have to be rooted in Indian-geographically, historically, socially or psychologically. Poetry is the expression of human life from times eternal. India, in fact has a long tradition of arts and poetry from...

Dr Suresh Chandra Pandey

PCK Prem (Katoch) of Himachal Pradesh(India) is a bilingual writer. He writes in English and Hindi with equal ease and poise. So far he has authored more than fifty-six books .He is a poet, novelist ,short-story writer & a critic well known and well acclaimed in our contemporary literary scene. His poetry collections like 'Enigmas Of An Identity'(1990) and 'Those Distant Horizons' (1993) bear a peculiar attractiveness ,charm and charisma. While his novels such as 'A Night Of Storms'(1996) and 'Not Their Lives'(2003) dynamically entice his readers for a definite period of time in strong ingenious fold .His books on English Literary Criticism together offer a fresh indigenous bouquet of thematic motifs, analytical pursuits and prevalent trends/drifts.His latest work on criticism widened into two volumes I & II, fascinatingly provides a complete history of Indian English Poetry, harking back as far as to the mutiny of 1857, besides contemporary predicament and presentday angst relevant in existential context. The author has done tremendous toil in his study of poets both great and small and has bequeathed almost equal status to all irrespective of class and cadre.A careful study of these two volumes reveal altogether a fine assessment of poets, their

Dr.Suresh Chandra Pande

PCK Prem (Katoch) of Himachal Pradesh(India) is a bilingual writer. He writes in English and Hindi with equal ease and poise. So far he has authored more than fifty-six books .He is a poet, novelist ,short-story writer & a critic well known and well acclaimed in our contemporary literary scene. His poetry collections like 'Enigmas Of An Identity'(1990) and 'Those Distant Horizons' (1993) bear a peculiar attractiveness ,charm and charisma. While his novels such as 'A Night Of Storms'(1996) and 'Not Their Lives'(2003) dynamically entice his readers for a definite period of time in strong ingenious fold .His books on English Literary Criticism together offer a fresh indigenous bouquet of thematic motifs, analytical pursuits and prevalent trends/drifts.His latest work on criticism widened into two volumes I & II, fascinatingly provides a complete history of Indian English Poetry, harking back as far as to the mutiny of 1857, besides contemporary predicament and presentday angst relevant in existential context. The author has done tremendous toil in his study of poets both great and small and has bequeathed almost equal status to all irrespective of class and cadre.A careful study of these two volumes reveal altogether a fine assessment of poets, their

P C K PREM, 2019

It discusses the poetry of many Indian Poets -Men and Women

Modernism in Indian English poetry and its practitioners is the focal point of discussion. What is special in them? Are they truly modern?

Contemporary Indian English Poets

S L Peeran and Dr. Mashrique Jahan are the authors of this book. S L Peeran has appraised sixteen major Indian English Poets who have been acclaimed at National and International poetical scene. One Poet Dr. Krishna Srinivas was awarded Padma Bhusan for his contribution to Indian English Poetry. Dr. Masrique Jahan has done her MPhil and PhD on the Poetry of S L Peeran. The book is published by authorspress New Delhi and available with amazon.com

Indian English Poetry has seen desirable changes post independence triggered by factors such as Globalization. It's far reaching consequences has shifted the notions of language and identity and the ways of articulations. The notion of Indianess change when notions of identity and existence find new horizons. It was inevitable then that the tinge of pessimism that was part of the early Indian English Literature give way to fresh approaches. Consequently, the Indian English Literary scene especially poetry has become experimental with the changing times. In this regard, Sudeep Sen remarks in the essay " New Indian Poetry: The 1990s Perspective " The most striking features of the new generation of poets are their range of concerns and themes and their use of language. They use English as an Indian as well as a global language, without the "peculiar hang-ups" exhibited by many in the earlier generations…. Thankfully, the last traces of archaic forms of British English have finally vanished. The new generation of poets is unafraid, motivated, clear sighted, and they use English with a sense of ease. Their language, style, rhythms, and forms are inventive, original, and contemporary.(273) This beginning of change was marked in the 1960's by the entry of poets such as Nissim Ezekiel, Dom Moraes, Jayanta Mahapatra and many more. They did revolutionize the terrain of Indian poetry in English; however what is striking is the emergence of Women Poets. Beginning with Kamala Das, Indian English Poetry became a horn of plenty with writers such as Kandaswamy and many more. They brought to their verses modernist and post modernist nuances, explicitly and expertly speaking about the changing contours of language and identity. The margins began to shift and new realms to their existence came alive through Poetry and the madness that it invokes. Poetry, with its exhortations of fluidity and open – endedness becomes a new tool to voice out the 'margins'. Creativity here is a merging of the public and the private and something beyond that. They were a far cry from the poetry of the Toru Sisters and Sarojini Naidu which according to Jenny Booth mimicked 19th century diction, sentiment and romanticized love. Post 1960's the Indian Women Poets writing in English stood out by highlighting their difference. Ironically this was the reason why they were suppressed in the beginning. They found a way of articulation through this hyphenated language which is as ambivalent as they are. At this juncture the thoughts of Luce Irigaray about a genuine feminine language, emphazising difference comes up. She says in " The Sex which is not One " : One must listen to her differently in order to hear an ' other meaning' which is constantly in the process of weaving itself, at the same time ceaselessly embracing words and yet casting them off to avoid becoming fixed, immobilized.. .. Her statements are never identical to anything. Their distinguishing feature is contiguity (Greene 87). This fact shines through in the poetry of these poets. In addition to this, the impact of globalization and the subsequent phenomenon of cosmopolitanism led to the creation of an identity which according to the LUMINAIRE 36

This research paper attempts to present an overview on the modern Indian English poetry though it's not possible to cover the whole genre in a single paper. However, I have tried my best to explicitly analyze some of the main poets like Nissim Ezekiel, Kamala Das A. K. Ramanujan and Jayanta Mahapatra exclusively. As we know after the fall of colonial empire the Indian English modern poetry had a paradigm shift from the traditional notions of poetry into new ideals. Modern Indian English poetry too surfaced with great passion and fervor though, it faced lot of hurdles and criticism from the nationalists by eschewing the pre-colonial culture of India and by writing in a language which is a remnant of British occupation. Despite all the hiccups the modern Indian poetry holds a significant place in the modern Indian culture. Today the galaxy of Indian English is much larger and more varied than it was ever before. The new poets have found appropriate techniques for their perception of reality.