Sunday, July 05, 2009
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Arvind Krishna Mehrotra
I am not an English poetry buff and didn't even know who Arvind Mehrotra was until I chanced to read a news item on his being nominated to an prominent professorial chair at Oxford University.
Here is a sample of the evocative poetry of Arvind Krishna Mehrotra.
Canticle for My Son
The dog barks and the cat mews,
The moon comes out in the sky,
The birds are mostly settled.
I envy your twelve hours
Of uninterrupted dreaming.
I take your small palms in mine
And don't know what
To do with them. Beware, my son,
Of those old clear-headed women
Excerpts From Arvind Krishna Mehrotra's poem "BHOJPURI DESCANT" based on Bhojpuri idioms.
"Piss after dinner,
Sleep on your left side:
You'll never fall sick.
...
One plough is death,
Two's survival,
Three's good business,
Four's a kingdom."
Arvind Krishna Mehrotra is a prominent indian poet. He has just been nominated to the position of the prestigious Oxford Professorship of Poetry. His nomination got wide coverage in Indian and Western Press.
Outlook, India has an article on his nomination.
Arvind Krishna Mehrotra is the first poet from this part of the world to be nominated for Oxford's Professorship of Poetry, the most high-profile in British poetry after the laureateship, and, for many, a more serious position than the latter. Former Professors include Matthew Arnold, W H Auden, and Seamus Heaney. Mehrotra's supporters include some very distinguished writers and scholars from every part of the world, such as Tariq Ali, Amit Chaudhuri, Tom Paulin, Charles Taylor, Toby Litt, Wendy Doniger, Adil Jussawalla, Shahid Amin, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and various others. Charles Taylor, one of the most considerable of living philosophers, has said: 'I see what a boon it would be if Mehrotra were elected professor of poetry. The issues he raises are so central to language, and so little explored or understood - although often evoked.'
For a sample of his poetry check out:
1. The Transfiguring Places: Poems in Google Books
2. Kavitayan I Indian Poetry I Arvind Krishna Mehrotra
3. His profile page on The Poetry Centre at Smith College website
Monday, December 29, 2008
Xmas 2008 Picnic at Mangatawhiri Reservior
Xmas 2008 Picnic at Mangatawhiri Reservior
Originally uploaded by baljit grewal
Overexposed but does capture the wind's effect on the grass.
Xmas 2008 Picnic at Mangatawhiri Reservior
Xmas 2008 Picnic at Mangatawhiri Reservior
Originally uploaded by baljit grewal
Tranquility.
A bit underexposed but a good result nevertheless.
Xmas 2008 Picnic at Mangatawhiri Reservior
Xmas 2008 Picnic at Mangatawhiri Reservior
Originally uploaded by baljit grewal
I clicked this picture of Mannat by the stream near the reservoir.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
बीबीसी समाचार-एक मिनट में
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