Nilamani Phookan Kabi Aru Kabita

A poet about another poet

Name of the book: Nilamani Phookan Kabi Aru Kabita

Writer: Harekrishna Deka

Publisher: Anwesha, M C Road, Barowari, Guwahati

Pages: 144

Price: Rs 99

As the name distinctively suggests, the book is about Nilamoni Phukon, the poet and his poems. Critics are unanimous in opinion that Phukon is one of the greatest and most influential modern Assamese poets and his poems have given another weight to our poetry. Deka, himself a poet of great reputation is an ardent admirer of Phukon, and he, as a true connoisseur of poetry, analysis some of his poems, and does it convincingly.

Aprat from the appendix, the book contains seven essays on and an interview with Nilamoni Phukon. The articles were written at different times and for different occasions; still there is a link among them. The first one is almost an introductory one in which the author tells how and why he became interested in the works of the poet. “Nilamoni Phukonor kavitat chitrkalpa” will help any reader to understand and appreciate the apparently difficult poet. Discovery of a meaning implied in an image is indeed gratifying and a reward in itself. The texts of his poems are so compact and pregnant with meaning that the meaning “often elusively slips from the grasp.” The distinctive Assamese way of life, particularly the ambience that has shaped it fascinates him, and allusions to it are plenty in his poems; natural beauty and popular beliefs of the country people have always stirred his poetic mind.

“Nilamoni Phukonor Kavita,” reprinted here was originally the preface to the poems of Nilamoni Phukon published in 2006, and it is so exhaustively written that the place is likely to come in handy to explore meanings in the poems of Phukon. Almost all the aspects of his poems are discussed and substantiated with pertinent explanations. Even the occasions of writing of some poems are cited; it is also referred to how some unfortunate and untoward happenings of our social life had robbed the poet of his mental peace until he wrote a poem to give to his agony and restlessness caused by them. It speaks volumes of his social commitment.

“Nrityarata Prithivi” is a critical evaluation of his poems included in the collection of the same title. With the passage of time man grows more experienced, and his outlook undergoes changes. The poems of this collection were written during a chaotic and turbulent periods of our history when the beast in man reigned supreme. Phukon’s heart bled; and many of the poems of the collection, as Deka points out, bears its indelible stamp. But that is not last say; his lust for life and longing for peace for all humanity are present here. “Ata artanadar aant bichari” and “Kahaneo ninadita hoi nutha kichuman sabda” are analysis and appreciation of two poems of the same titles.

Reading Nilamoni Phukon’s poetry, texts of eighteen poems with a pageful specimen of the poet’s handwriting and an outline of his life and achievements constitute the appendix. The fourteen questionnaire of the author and their answers by the poet are quite informative.

The contents of the book were published in different magazines and many readers might have read them. Anwesha has collected and published all the essays in a single book. It is a significant contribution to Assamese literature; with plenty of explanations the author illuminates the meaning of some significant poems, and it serves as guide lines to many readers. (EOM)

SYED MAHAMMAD MAHSHIN

Published on August 26, 2011