THE ECHOES OF THE SARANGEE
Ramesh Shrestha is an established name in the literary firmament of Nepali literature. He has already published several poetry books and received dozens of prestigious awards. The anthology of poems, Malami Pahad ra Sarangee, under review, is the poet’s latest creation.
Ramesh Shrestha is not only a poet par excellence but also a consummate painter. He has received many awards, accolades, and prizes for excellent paintings. In his latest poetry book, the poet has exploited this painting ability. The poet has designed his own book cover page. Besides, he has also drawn many sketches for most of his poems.
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The art made on the book cover and the book's name, ‘Malami Pahad ra Sarangee, perfectly match each other. The Sarangee is exhausted and dead, and now it is left with its skeleton. Here, Sarangee stands for a human who pulls various strings of life and creates music all his life. But the music ceases as soon as the person is dead. In fact, a person may die, but the music he has created will remain alive in the lips, minds, and hearts of people. A red heart shown amid the Sarangee radiates the same message. The message is that a person may die, but not his music. Whether it is Malami Pahad or Sarangee, the poet has used heavy metaphors to transmit his literary and poetic expression. Therefore, the readers must understand those metaphors, like Malami Pahad and Sarangee, to comprehend the poems.
The poet Ramesh Shrestha has brilliantly exploited his painting ability in his latest poetry book. The book has a total of 78 poems, which are divided into two parts. The first part is Malami Pahad. It contains 61 poems that revolve around the theme of Malami Pahad. Malami Pahad is the imaginary mountain where many bodies that lay there in peace and silence, but they have witnessed human follies by those who thought they were immortal and would never die.
Of the 61 poems, eight start with a sketch of Malami Pahad. At first glance, those sketches resemble each other, but they do not. Each sketch of the Malami Pahad actually carries a subtle meaning that is brilliantly shown by the sketch. Such an impeccable sketch itself is a witness to the brilliance of the artist.
In the first part of the book, the word ‘Pahad’ has been used many times. The interesting thing is that the poet has used this word to meet his poetic purpose. In each poem, ‘Pahad’ bears different meanings. Sometimes it laments how our ‘Pahad’ (mountains) are devoid of life-giving trees, therefore damaging the entire flora and fauna. Then in the next poem, 'Pahad’ is used to lampoon the corrupt bureaucracy of the country.
The poems penned in the Malami Pahad carry a myriad of feelings, emotions, and agonies. All 61 poems in this section are unique as they express a life full of vicissitudes. The poet has not only lamented, but he has also shown hope, expectation, and glory in many poems. One of his poems eulogized the glorious past of Nepal and explained why Nepal cannot attain the lost glory for which the country was once known in the world.
The poet has also used ‘Pahad’ to reflect human egos in a very different manner. He writes how today's humans carry a mountain of ego with them. Therefore, when two people meet, a clash of egos is inevitable, which makes it difficult for them to stay together, and soon they part ways. In another poem, the poet writes that nowadays people have put many masks on their faces. This makes it difficult to identify the real face of a person.
In another poem, the poet symbolizes ‘Pahad’ with the people who are stubborn and not ready to accept a change in society. These people, as the poet writes, are more like ‘Pahad’ (mountains). They have refused to move; they are stagnant. They hold old beliefs that do not have any significance in modern times. These people are not ready to welcome a change, or they are not ready to change themselves to fit in with modern times. Such adamant natures of people have become obstacles that prevent people from working together.
The poet has shown his anguish, frustration, and fury against those people who are like ‘Pahad’ and not ready to accept the reality of life. Thus, these sixty-one poems of Malami Pahad have successfully expressed human nature, behavior, and conflicts. The poet further writes that when such complex human nature is laced with greed, desires, and jealousy, a human transforms into an unpredictable monster. Expressing such complex human nature through poetry in the ‘Malami Pahad’ is, without doubt, an arduous task that poet Ramesh Shrestha has executed successfully.
The next part of the book has 17 poems, which are devoted to Sarangee. Out of 17 poems, the poet has drawn 15 sketches. He has placed each sketch at the end of the poem. The message the poem carries and the sketch of the Sarangee both match perfectly. This shows the radiant imagination, power, and painting ability of the poet. By reading these poems, aficionados of poetry will immediately comprehend the intrinsic relation between the sketches of Sarnagees and the poems. Every single string of the Sarangee evokes a life rattled with pain and misery. The songs from the broken strings are not heard or cared for; they have been suppressed. Society, therefore, has turned selfish, oblivious, and egocentric. Here, nobody cares about anyone, no matter how many of those Sarangees are broken.
Through these 16 poems, devoted to Sarangee, the poet has made an effort to explore the human psyche. Sarangee poems are more personal as they deal with human psychology at different levels of understanding. In one place, the poet writes that in this world, everyone carries their own Sarangee, and they are busy creating a voice of their own. Some voices are heard with due attention, while others are not. That means the voices of influential people are heard, but the commoners are not—no matter how hard the strings are pulled or even if the Sarangee is broken, who cares?
The Sarangee poems are more psychological as well as
philosophical. All these poems have tried to explain the human psyche, both
normal and complex, and for that, the Sarangee has been used to achieve the
purpose. The poet writes that he is waiting for a time when the voices of every
Sarangee are heard, and for that, no Sarangee has to sacrifice its strings.
Because every Sarangee is unique and deserving of living a dignified life. The
music from each Sarangee may differ, but the Sarangee is the same, just
as humanity is no different. Let’s play the Sarangee and let this world be
blessed with peace, harmony, and prosperity. A broken Sarangee with broken
strings is a life lost, the music silenced, and the hope dissipated on the
distant horizon. Laden with such heart-touching messages, Ramesh Shrestha’s
poems have successfully delivered their message to every poetry lover at home
and abroad.
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