P C K PREM : AMONG
THE SHADOWS
(Indian Book
Chronicle, Jaipur, January, 1993)
VARIED THEMES
Among
the Shadows is a collection of poems by P C K Prem on a variety of themes, social, cultural and philosophical.
These themes have come to him from his personal experiences he had in various
positions he had served.
A NEW GURU FOR AN ENDLESS
JOURNEY
In
‘Sermon’, the poet hopes for the arrival of a new Guru. He expresses his
disgust for the ‘run amuck’ refugees. The ‘man without pieces’ is ironically
enough not to be found in a ‘super bazaar’. The widespread commercialism is all
too pervading and the heralding of a new guru offering a new religion is also a
‘part of his pragmatic plan.’
The holy Ganges in ‘Thought” offers
a message that immortality is an enigma. Like the Ganges, the dull routine life
of a individual is also an endless journey. There is no change in schedule and
the individual has to move on a straight path with unending work on hand.
WORDLY VALUES
The worldly values of individuals are frankly depicted in
another forceful poem “Insurance”, with some overtones of Kamla Dass visible,
when the poet says:
…I eat meat
I donate blood…
The ethics are to be excluded
totally; one must strive hard to
Write a preamble
Affirming short cut
To prosperity.
The poem is full of irony, satire, and humour. The agent
is offered a ‘Commission’ and thus things are manipulated in a perfect manner,
and consequently, both the husband and wife enjoy the benefits of the husband’s
so called death.
BETWEEN TEARS & TERRORS
Other
poems reveal the miseries and agonies of a government servant. The ‘Last Pyre’
digs deep in philosophy and the futility of human life.
The imagery in ‘Painter’ is rather
shocking and unconventional, when the poet refers to a painter ‘cooking a
canvas’ with forks and knives’, consequently, he finds the ‘brush killed and
colours darkened’. In his ‘Song’ the poets tries to seek ‘peace and love within
/ for there was hate around.’ People are desperately trying to find location in
utter confusion. The only person who is happy is the one who is still waiting
for a meaning. The poet believes that ‘man in man and animal in man remains a
destined reality.’
The description in ‘Nurse’ reminds
us of Sylvia Plath. The shadows of imminent death and the gloom of the hospital
are life-like. The reference to dextrose and sodium chloride provides
authenticity to the description.
BREACH OF FAITH
The same canvas is broadened in
‘Life of a Town’. The impact of terrorist activities is visible, where ‘life
measured in small monument’ which is created, damaged and renovated. The poet
states that man ‘waves plastic flowers’ from the exits of the houses. The
vicious circle continues, and people write a ‘sad happy end of a dead
existence’. Similarly, the words of Mahatma in ‘No Pattern’ fall flat on the
deaf ears of people, because nobody wishes to ‘tread the path’ that leads to
salvation because; there has been a ‘bread of faith.’
The Keatsian touch is visible in ‘Dark Search’ where the
reference to Siva and Kailash provides the poem familiar Indian touch. The poem
‘Escape’ voices the sardonic idea. The image of petrol-driven machine within
joins the poet to the present static, meaningless, soulless life of the
individual.
The ‘Record Keeper’ is satiric in tone. The ‘well kept
records are covered with dust, and weep without a sympathizer. The recent event
of burying a capsule again offers a touch of authenticity.
Now a falsehood turns into a
truth
And becomes a history
in capsule that goes deep in
earth
No one forbids storage
No body proclaims distortion.
MONTO’S PHILOSOPHY; SURVIVALISM
The all-inclusive sum total of Prem’s philosophy is to be
found in ‘Monto’. Monto enjoys all the facilities of life – Like Bhisma, he is
awaiting his death. He is surrounded with books, diaries, pens, pencils,
magazines and papers. He compares himself with Moses and talks of values like
piety and faith. To him, his wife is only a wife, ‘not woman’. The suggestion
of the seduction of the virgin maid gives him no sense of guilt. Still he dares
worship the images of God. The freak romances and few jumps with flesh and sex
are considered hall-marks of a genius. He shamelessly justifies his conduct on
the ground of history and scriptures. He symbolizes modern man’s urge to push
back all others. Apparently, he is a communist who attends various meetings and
joins several discussions, yet he believes in Darwin’s survival of the fittest.
Monto is considered a ‘Messiah’, who stands alone like a
liberator and is proclaimed and applauded by all, yet he cannot overcome his
lust for women. Beginning with the maid, he spares not even a princess.
Like a shrewd politician, he lectures on various topics
and like Mark Antony, tries t rouse the emotions of the common folk. He has the
inborn quality to feel the tender nerve of common people. He preaches on the
duty of poets and novelists in a literary symposium. His appeals are both
emphatic and pressing. Like a ‘blotless’ Ram, Monto can send Sita to exile and
still laugh ‘like a perfect master of the situation’. He knows ‘how to live in
a world of lies and hatred.’
The striking contrasts strengthen the poem. The reformers
and rascals assemble, which indicates their mutual league. Ultimately, the poet
feels disgusted and powerless, because a challenge has been thrown to him to
create a new Monto, if he dares do that.
In these poems, P C K Prem emerges as a philosophic as
well as a narrative artist. His use of subjective pronoun ‘I’ carries the
readers along with him. The language is simple yet pungent enough for the
reader to think. The casual flashes of local colour and discrete use of myths
certainly broaden the canvas of imagery. Readers may complain lack of humour,
but in a work like this, an extra touch of humour might appear extravagant.
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