Foreword to Across the Border: M.A.Rathore

 

FOREWORD

ACROSS THE BORDER 

Across the Border Translated by Rajni Chhabra is a collection of more than half a century of the poets of repute in Rajasthani poetry as well as those budding poets who are writing poetry with passion and have maintained the purity of the Rajasthani culture. While reading this anthology, I have found that there is a serene atmosphere of Rajasthani folk culture. Through the eyes of the translator, I have noted the real essence of poetry and I accept that there is no bar of language for true poetry. Poetry itself takes its form and language in which it is written. In this collection, the real work of original translation is just like the rebirth of the poetry originally felt by the native poets. Rajni Chhabra is not a new name in the world of English translation. Besides being a poet herself, she has a bulk of experience in writing in more than one language and has authored a number of books, not only on poetry but Numerology and other motivational genres too.

In this book, the reader can find the fragrance of soil, the countryside, life of the modern world and cultural and historical background of the thoughts of the poets included in it. This collection includes the most vibrant personalities of Rajasthani poets whose introduction has no need for words. The number of poets who write in Rajasthani are also a part of the language movement for the Constitutional recognition of Rajasthani language. Though Rajasthani culture is not far from Indian culture, yet a number of social and burning issues have been put forward by the poets that constitute a micro world within itself. Most of the poets are rooted in the essence of Rajasthani culture. They think and they work diligently; they feel like a universal entity. They muse over a number of local issues. They are progressing in every field, but their feet are touching the ground. To write about these famous signatures of the present day is to show the light to the Sun.

The first poem I come across has been delineated by Aidan Singh Bhati, who feels worried about the disintegration of age-long values and the means our forefathers used to make our houses pious with mud and cow-dung. The streets are choked with smoke. The fragrance of clouds, butterflies and flowers is absent. A woman in front of his eyes appeared and a footpath stretched itself. In his poem, the diligent figure of a common woman is found plucking shoots of millet in the fields and doing other household works.

In the poem Craftsmanship, Raju Bijarania writes the true feeling of mother as she is busy from dawn to dusk mending the home torn into pieces while we can see the farmer working throughout scorching day of June, Ramswarup Kissan observes his spouse with a line of perspiration due to the excessive work in the field. He deems her solo bearer who holds all the responsibility and loads of family; the man actually does nothing except doing some petty jobs. He calls himself a useless ox who is not working, but composing a few verses even though he is awake, but in sleep she is pushing the cart.

Reena Menaria imposes a strong question of the identity of a girl who refuses to get married and perform wedding rituals; the wedding procession has to return without a bride. This is not the question of marriage and the denial of marriage, but the question of decision taken by a daughter. We can see the dark side of the bullied society where the bridegroom has to be unhorsed due to the discrimination of old aged casteism. B. L. Paras underlines the fact that besides being modern as we are; the casteism is still prevalent in the society that is more dangerous than the mania of Kim Jong of North Korea who can cause a deadly destruction within a second. He finds the discrimination made by the higher caste taboos who think they are made impure merely of the touch of the lower caste people. He makes it clear and feels awkward when he finds himself not able to get the love of a higher class lady because of the discrimination, though he loves her immensely.

• The theme of a daughter is high-lightened by the poets such as Arjun Dev Charan, The daughter is instructed to orient the rules of society. She is enthusiastic to do something outstanding at school and home, but her feelings have been curtailed. She owns a pair of eyes, but they are devoid of dreams; she possesses lips but it is not to speak; she possesses hands to spread in front of others; she has feet but she spends her whole life as handicapped. Poet Charan claims that daughter opens the door of home; path for coming generations; probabilities of future but never opens the doors of her heart. Sapna Verma delicately portrays women in the poem, ‘Grass and Woman’ A woman is like grass /Swaying and waving/ Delicate and soft/ Always keeps sticking/To roots. In spite of being cut many times, she keeps sticking to roots. She has the capacity of flourishing into a tree. She takes pride in being grass that turns the whole earth into greenery.

We can observe the true feelings of a fond father in Atul Kanak’s poems for the dear daughters. He trains her daughter in swimming and now she wants to comprehend the exhalation of rivers when they mingle into the sea. He describes her daughter who used to sleep till late even after sunrise; covering her face with a sheet of dreams, but now she gives priority to her official duty to cherish her life. The poet worries about whether she can take out some time to sing or not. Poetess Ila Pareek feels it her moral obligation to scribble about the injustice  faced by females in every stage of life. The burning issue of foeticide of baby girls is put forward. While the baby is in the womb, an atmosphere of death dominates the scene. She is instructed by her pen to lay down the pathos of this unborn daughter. She paints the whole life of Lachami in a picturesque manner that imprints the struggle of an Indian woman. Neelam Pareek puts the question of the identity of daughter in the poem, ‘Where is my Sky? She states, ‘Birds fly freely/ in the vast sky/ If I am a bird/ Where is my/ Share of the sky?

 

The rural setting of mother removing thick layer of cream from curd, beckoning children to come and sit in her lap, for relishing butter, shown pictorially in the poems of Inder Singh Rajpurohit is noteworthy. In the poems of Deendayal Sharma, we find a lot of exposure of the feelings of children who always have a question. That is why people usually avoid conversing with them. They never tie a knot of hatred like we elders do on petty issues without any reason.Dinesh Charan urges to save humanity rather than showing concern about environment sitting in air-conditioned rooms; while in the poem of Basanti Panwar, honesty commits suicide and war leaves so many questions behind. The poems of Neeraj Daiya are infused with the feelings of sand, sand-dunes, deer without which the description of Rajasthani poetry is incomplete.

Love is the universal theme in poetry and we can relish it in the poems of Om Purohit ‘Kagad’, Jayshree Kanwar, Sanghmitra Rathore, Madhu Acharya, Nand Bhardwaj, Ravi Purohit and Sanwar Daiya. Jayshree tries to awaken the feeling of true love through her poem, Mahender Moomal. In Sanghmitra’s  poem, You –you and You, she finds- In love of Dhola-Maru/ I view you in/ Blood- smeared arrows/ Iview you in / Blossoms at my abode.

 It is not easy to mention all the names of all the great gems of Rajasthani poetry in one glimpse, but I would like to conclude my view by taking the example of poetic creation in the poems of Jitender Soni who truly feels the pain of composing poetry just like the pain of giving birth to a child. 

Rajni Chhabra has marked a niche in literary corridors, especially in multi-lingual translation works. I would like to congratulate all the participants whose poems have been included in this collection.

-M.A. Rathore,

Author and Poet,

World Icon of Peace, Nigeria,

Mahatma Gandhi Government (English Medium) School,

 Kohla, Hanumangarh

Mob. 9928295960

Mail: ma.rathore786@gmail.com