K.V. Dominic Criticism and Commentary E-Book

Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

• Herausgeber: Modern History Press
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 178

Beschreibung

Peek inside the mind one of Contemporary India's most influential poets
Inside this book you'll find Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya, one of the most erudite philosopher-critics of India, brilliantly evaluating his compatriot English poet K.V. Dominic. Among the contemporary English poets of India, Dr. K.V. Dominic has established an unchallengeable position of his own. Through his poetry collections Winged Reason, Write Son, Write, Multicultural Symphony, Contemporary Concerns and Beyond, and K.V. Dominic: Essential Readings and Study Guide, Dominic has beautifully portrayed themes of environmental, social, political, and humanitarian concerns.
Mukhopadhyaya, with his unique style, critically and philosophically studies not only Dominic's poetry, but also the poet himself as a person with his background of family, town, state, and country. Being a master of Indian as well as western philosophy, Mukhopadhyaya digs out the philosophic thoughts lying hidden in many of the poems. In addition, his depth in English and Sanskrit literature has enabled him to make comparisons of Dominic's poems to those of the legends.
"Dominic's poetry reflects India. This is the base of the study by Mukhopadhyaya who has taught literature and authored books. He finds Dominic's poetry irresistible. I add that Mukhopadyaya's book is enlightening and also irresistible. His study is a compassionate painting of Dominic's poetry with the shades that are eternal."
--Dr. Stephen Gill, Canadian poet and novelist
"Dr. Mukhopadhyaya's critique is a remarkable contribution to Dominic's poetry, as it is systematically written with philosophical explications and comparisons to great legends as well as classical poets of the East and the West. Indeed an important addition to the existing works on this major literary figure."
--Dr. Rob Harle, Australian poet, author and artist
"More than merely an analysis of Dominic's poems, this book is an insight into the vibrant philosophy experienced by the Indian mind that has amalgamated both the perennial bliss and the painful vicissitudes of life to foster sublime and universal notions of life. As the volume reveals the personality of the poet, it invites attention to the authenticity of the impersonal theory of poetry."
--Dr. S. Kumaran, Indian critic, scholar and academician, author of Philosophical Musings for a Meaningful Life: An Analysis of K.V. Dominic's Poems
From Modern History Press

Leseprobe

K.V. Dominic Criticism and Commentary:

Essential Readings Companion

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

Foreword by Dr. T.V. Reddy

From the World Voices Series

Modern History Press

Ann Arbor

K.V. Dominic Criticism and Commentary: Essential Readings Companion

Copyright © 2017 by Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya. All Rights Reserved.

Foreword by Dr. T.V. Reddy

From the World Voices Series

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Mukhopåadhyåaçya, Rameâsa, author.

Title: K.V. Dominic criticism and commentary : essential readings companion /

Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya.

Description: Ann Arbor, MI : Modern History Press, 2017. | Series: World voices series | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017034093 | ISBN 9781615993574 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Dominic, K. V. (Kannappillil Varghese), 1956---Criticism and interpretation.

Classification: LCC PR9499.4.D66 Z76 2017 | DDC 821/.92--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017034093

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Contents

Foreword by T.V. Reddy

Chapter 1 - About the Poet and his Background

On the Cover Page of the Book K. V. Dominic Essential Readings

On the Poet and his Name

On the Poet’s Native Town, Thodupuzha

Further Explanations of Sanskrit Terms

Sattva, Rajah and Tamah in K. V. Dominic’s works

On the Poet’s Home State, Kerala

On the Poet’s Country, India

Chapter 2 - What Led the Poet to Write Poems?

On the Elegies

On the Issues of Women, Parents and Old Age

The Economics of the Poet

Chapter 3 - Pathos in the Poems

On Tragic Lives of Children

On Hardships and Tears of Youth

On Man’s Selfishness and Vices

Chapter 4 - Criticism on Government’s Claims and Promises

On Family

On Hunger and Poverty

On Fake Development

Chapter 5 - Surrealism in the Poetry

On Docupoetry

On Violence, Terrorism and War

On the Need of Harmonious Life with Nature

Chapter 6 - Commentary on Selected Poems

Explication of the poem “Siachen Tragedy”

Text and Explication of the Poem “Massacre of Cats”

Explication of the Poem “Lines Composed from Thodupuzha River’s Bridge”

Explication of the Poem “Parental Duty”

Stylistic Analysis of the Poem “Long Live E. K. Nayanar”

About the Author

Index

Foreword

When I received an email from Victor R. Volkman, the distinguished Editor of Modern History Press, to write a Foreword to this critical work on Dr. Dominic written by Prof. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya, a highly distinguished and reputed scholar and critic from Kolkata, I felt extremely happy. There cannot be a greater joy for me than writing a Foreword to the standard critical work penned by my erudite friend Dr. Ramesh on the poetry of my esteemed friend Dr. Dominic who is at once a poet, critic and short story writer of equal eminence in all the aforesaid genres. My acquaintance with Dr. Dominic goes back to 2010, when I was introduced to him by our renowned friend and poet Dr. D. C. Chambial, the Editor of the illustrious literary journal Poetcrit. When I expressed my wish to attend the GIEWEC Literary festival that was to be organized at Ernakulam in his home State Kerala, he, being the General Secretary of the Guild of Indian English Writers Editors and Critics, courteously invited me and it gave me an opportunity to come closer to him and understand him better.

As a matter of fact, he is the main pillar of the Organization and it is no exaggeration to say that he is the active force behind it and it is on him the existence of the Guild rests. With enormous patience and tact, hard work and resourcefulness he has been organizing the Annual literary Seminars and editing two standard Journals - Writers Editors Critics (WEC) and International Journal on Multicultural Literature (IJML). I felt fortunate to find a noble friend in him and from then onwards our friendship developed with ethical and intellectual strength. Later on behalf of the members of the Guild when he proposed my name to be the Hon. President of the Guild, I happily accepted it with the sole objective of serving the cause of the Guild together with him who is the dynamic spirit behind the smooth functioning of the responsible National-level Organization.

Dr. Dominic is at once a distinguished poet, critic and short story writer. He has so far published five collections of poems in English – 1.Winged Reason, 2.Write Son, Write, 3. Multicultural Symphony 4. Contemporary Concerns and Beyond and 5. K. V. Dominic: Essential Readings and Study Guide. The last one has been published by Modern History Press, USA. Though he started his poetic career comparatively at a later stage, he could succeed to rise to the higher levels of poetic achievement which is indeed really great. His maiden attempt itself was a great success and from then onwards he never looked back and his poetic career has been a steady progress in technique as well as quality. Moreover, he constructs his poems on the solid foundations of everlasting ethical values and human considerations such as essential sympathetic understanding and tolerance which have transformed his poems into unfading flowers spreading the balmy breeze of their fragrance to distant lands and territories. Dr. S. Kumaran, the distinguished scholar and critic, has done a great work on Dr. Dominic by bringing out a remarkable work of critical essays, Philosophical Musings for a Meaningful Life: An Analysis of K. V. Dominic’s Poems, published by Modern History Press, USA.

The present work by Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya, a profound scholar in English literature with equal command on the Vedic and Upanishadic knowledge which indeed forms the solid foundation of the Sanatana Dharma, which has come to be known as Hinduism, highlights the depth of Dominic’s poetry, unearths the rich ores of poetic beauty hidden in the poems by his thought-provoking analytic study and enlightening interpretation of the poems in the light of Indian poetics and thought. This critical work is meant to be a Companion to Dominic’s significant volume i.e. K. V. Dominic: Essential Readings and Study Guide with its critical analysis, interpretation, explication and elucidation of Dominic’s poetry in general and the poems included in the book in particular. In this context I feel happy to say that Dr. Ramesh with his extraordinary creative and critical vision is the right person to have undertaken this critical project and he has done full justice to his work in making this critical study an in-depth work shining with gems of critical insights and groundbreaking highlights.

The great merit of this critical work, unique in its nature, is that the writer Dr. Ramesh tries to project the poetry of Dominic in the light of ancient Hindu thought which in other words is the everlasting moral path of right living which is totally free from all these narrow barriers and dogmas and which rests only on kindness and compassion to all living creatures. The greatness of the poet Dr. Dominic is that, though he is a Christian by birth, he never allows himself to be bound by any religious dogma and his poetry proves him to be a true son of the Indian soil known from times immemorial for the catholicity of outlook and compassion to fellow beings irrespective of their caste, creed and faith. And what is commendable in the poet Dr. Dominic is the indisputable fact that the essential spirit of The Hindu thought flows in his blood and genes which got internalized in his psyche. Likewise, the eminence of the critic Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya lies in the fact that he has succeeded in the critical task of his superb explication of the poems in unravelling this inner vision underlined in the poems, in focussing on the human values embedded in the poems and in giving philosophical treatment to the poems of Dr. Dominic in the background of this Sanatana Dharma on which India rests. It is difficult to find another critic of the stature of Dr. Ramesh in the critical explanation of the poem in the light of Indian poetics that has come down to us from more than two thousand years.

This critical work is divided into six chapters. While the first chapter deals with the poet and his background, the second explains what led the poet to write poems and the third and the fourth attempt to bring out the pathos in the poems and the reality of the fate of Government’s claims and promises respectively. The fifth chapter is on “Surrealism in the Poetry” and speaks on violence, terrorism and war and on the need of harmonious life with nature, while the last one is a commentary on selected poems ending with a fitting conclusion.

Dr. Ramesh begins this critical work with the aesthetic explication of the picture on the cover of the book displaying two children together, one white and the other black; this metaphorical presentation takes him back to Blake’s poem ‘The Little Black Boy’ which in turn suggests the metaphorical nature of the poems in the book i.e. the truth lies neither in the white nor in the black, but somewhere else as it is elusive. As a matter of fact, the search for truth, the endless search for the Absolute Truth, should be the sole aim of the human being here on this earth. Even a casual glance at the front cover of the book rouses the curiosity of the reader and kindles the inquisitive mind to go straight into the pages to taste the fruits of the contents of the poems.

The poem ‘Onam’ (p.37) by Dominic is a description of the most popular festival in his home State of Kerala celebrated as a State Festival in August-September. It is a harvest festival celebrated all over the State by all the people irrespective of religion, caste or creed and Keralites staying in different parts of the country and in foreign shores come to their native place to participate in this most important festival. This festival is in the memory of their ancient mighty King Maha Bali who ruled all the three worlds without any opposition. It is celebrated for ten days and each day is a wonder of new robes, sweets and feasts ringing with Onam songs, plays and dances and giving the feel of the age-old culture and tradition of the people of Kerala. Onam songs in praise of Mahabali are sung through generations inspiring younger minds with the spirit of courage and sacrifice:

the golden rule of Maveli

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Equality prevailed in the society;

no lies, no crimes, no deceits;

and no cheat; no poverty, no child death.

All were happy.

(K. V. Dominic: Essential Readings, pp.37-38)

Boat race is the star attraction of this festival in this sea coast State known for its backwaters of the Arabian Sea and criss-crossing rivers and streams. Boat race or vallam kali takes place among snake-shaped boats with more than a hundred energetic youth rhythmically rowing with oars and singing at the same time with gusto.

This critical treatise as a matter of fact commences with the interpretation of the poem ‘What is Karma?’ (K.V. Dominic: Essential Readings, p.248) where Dominic makes use of the concept of Karma, one of the cardinal tenets of the Hindu philosophy, the other concepts being Atma, Maya and Samskara. Here the critic Dr. Ramesh is at his best in exploring the meaning to its depth and explaining in detail the background for a fuller understanding of the concept of Karma by the reading community outside India. The nature of Karma is decided by the degree of the presence of the three qualities—Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas and by the legacy of the inherited Samskaras. Dr. Ramesh is full of appreciation to the dialogue form observed by the poet and he rightly says “This reminds us of Plato’s Dialogues and Ramakrishna Kathamrita” and adds that “The Indian approach to things is qualitative or founded on guna or quality.”(p.7). Now while explaining the poem ‘Lines Composed from Thodupuzha River’s Bridge’ the critic says it “reminds us of the lines ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge’ by Wordsworth and invites comparison” with Wordsworth’s poem written in the year 1802. First let us have a look at the lines of Dominic:

Looking down from your girdle bridge

my eyes and my mind bathe in thy morning beauty.

(K. V. Dominic: Essential Readings, p.138)

Now look at the lines of Wordsworth:

Earth has not anything to show more fair

Dull would be he of soul who could pass by.

Dr. Ramesh makes a comparative study: “While Wordsworth marvels at the sight of the majestic morning of London, Dominic bathes in the river of life and light and we too bathe with him and feel the touch of the flowing nectar.”(p.10). In another context, Ramesh says “The poet Dominic is so much in love with his native land that he cannot migrate from here despite the fact that it is being turned into a wasteland”(p.15).

Dominic’s lines on Mother India, ‘Victory to thee Mother India’ (p.92) bristles with the patriotic spirit of the poet:

Victory to thee Mother India;

for you did unite the races

divided on religion,

culture, language and colour.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A hundred years back

thy great son, Tagore

sang in praise of you.

Matha, you could rouse then

the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat,

Maratha, Dravida, Orissa and Bengal.

In the words of Dr. Ramesh “This poem not only echoes the national song but also speaks of the deep influence that Tagore cast upon Dominic”.

Now the critic comes to the beginning of the poetic career of Dr. Dominic, which is quite a significant event that lasts long in our memory. He composed his first poem when he was 48 years old and he describes the situation in his Preface to his Essential Readings thus:

“One of my colleagues Prof. George Joson of the Dept. of Mathematics drowned in a river as he was driving back to his house at 11 p.m. on 14 May 2004. It was raining cats and dogs throughout the night and the body was found out in the early morning frozen in the driver’s seat of his car… Joson was my intimate friend, living with his unemployed wife and three little daughters, resembling three angels, just two hundred metres away from my house. Thus my ‘bad heart’ heavy and brimming with grief released the tension on paper after two days.”

Dr. Ramesh appropriately compares this situation to the more moving situation of the great ancient Indian poet Valmiki whose grief came out in the form a sloka when he saw the male crowncha bird killed with the hunter’s arrow when it was in love play with its female partner. Thus Valmiki became the first poet in the world literature with his immortal Sanskrit epic The Ramayana. The lines of Dominic’s poem ‘In Memoriam George Joson’ (K. V. Dominic: Essential Readings, p.1) move the heart of the reader and penetrate into deeper truths of life:

The most painful was the sight

when your youngest kid,

not knowing what has happened,

kissed your face often

and plucked flowers

from your wreath;

tossed them to her sisters weeping and screaming.

Dr. Dominic’s poem ‘An Elegy on My Ma’ (p.91) is an expression of his unbounded love for his departed mother and a description of her suffering for six long years before death. He recollects—‘Your sleepless nights, / sitting and wheezing, / when we were fast asleep, / . . . / Long six years, / bewailing often / “Why doesn’t God, / call me back?’.The stark truth of honesty as well as the apprehensiveness of the uncertainty of the personal security in the last days finds a faithful expression in the poem: ‘Ma, you were never / deserted by your children. / What would be our Fate, ma, / when we become old as you?’ Here Dr. Ramesh says with an air of critical humour: ‘We have caught Dominic off his guard. Firstly it is here that Dominic gives vent to real anxieties.”

Cruelty prevailing in general in the world and particularly in families and schools is described in poems such as ‘Rahul’s World’, ‘Nature Weeps’ etc. Harmony in the domestic life gets ruined when the drunken husband comes home and beats his wife and son. The poet conjures up the scene so realistically that it lingers long before our mind’s screen: ‘Drunken father / beat mother, / beat Rahul; / Kicked away supper, / None could sleep. / Cruel father, / Cruel teacher, / Cruel world, / Poor Rahul / longs for love’. (p.39).The other poem presents the cruelty of the teacher towards the students in the school which is the main reason for most of the dropouts in the schools: ‘The child is reluctant / to go to school: / teacher welcomes with cane’ (p.117).

In Chapter 4 the critic deals with the poets’ criticism on Government’s liberal promises which are conveniently forgotten immediately after the elections and on claims which are blatant lies. Refuting the claims of the Government that India is on the way to become number one in the world, the poet brings out the shocking reality in the poems ‘India Number One (p.166) and ‘Rocketing Growth of India!’(p.121):

Ninety-seven percent of my countrymen

have no access to clean drinking water.

Yet the Government claims

the country is fast growing!

True, growth is there in numbers of multi-millionaires

who are even less than two-percent, (p.166)

The highlight of the Chapter 5 is the critical reflection of the poem ‘To My Colleague’ (p.126) which presents the most moving word-painting on the ruthless cruelty of the communal fanatics who are worse than barbarians, indeed an indelible blot on the civilized humanity as a whole. The right palm of the Professor TJ in a college in Kerala was hacked off by inhuman members of a viciously fanatic community, ordered by their fanatic court, for speaking on a secular point. They further axed his left leg from thigh to toes and cut three fingers and bones of his left palm. The right palm was picked up by his sister and it was stitched in the hospital ‘as a dry branch budded to a live plant’. The climax reaches when he is suspended and dismissed by the college he has served with utmost sincerity and sacrifice. The critic Dr. Ramesh is at his best in interpreting this ghastly situation:

“It is more fearsome than Banquo’s ghost. Neither Kyd nor Seneca could portray such figures. Facts are stranger than fiction. The image of TJ maimed and mutilated reminds of the aesthetics of cruelty as propounded by Antonin Artaud.”

Chapter 6 deals with the writer’s commentary on selected poems and begins with the explication of the poem ‘Siachen Tragedy’ which is a vivid description of the snow-clad Siachen glacier in the Himalayas and a moving narration of the natural calamity resulting in the death of many soldiers as well as civilians who got buried by the fury of the avalanche. Army camps are stationed at the Siachen heights and it is the highest battle ground in the world where Indian and Pakistan soldiers have to fight with freezing temperature. Now Dr. Ramesh gives his analytical interpretation of the poem ‘Massacre of Cats’, comparatively a longer poem running into 83 lines. It is at once an elegy on the death of seven cats poisoned by a neighbour, a commentary on the cruelty of the human beings and a plea for compassion to all living creatures:

Birds and animals play

their assonant keys.

Man alone strikes discordant notes.

(ER, p.76)

Thus this critical work K. V. Dominic Criticism and Commentary: Essential Readings Companion by Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya is not only an extremely well-written critical document with Indian insights into the poetry of Dominic, but a great contribution to the corpus of literary criticism with its prime focus on Indian aesthetics and psyche. With his extensive scholarship both in Indian and European classics and modern writings he has accomplished this rare work of explicating the numerous nuances in the poetry of Dr. Dominic and interpreting the poems altogether from a new critical perspective based on Indian poetics.

Note: Textual quotations are from the book K. V. Dominic Essential Readings and Study Guide.

by Prof. T.V. Reddy (Poet, Critic &Novelist)

Chapter 1 - About the Poet and his Background

It is said that the history