Nirmaldasan's A Pocket Book Of Rhymes

-- This review appeared in the January 2007 issue of the
Journalism Online newsletter --

What is thought today
Will be thought tomorrow,
For what is thought today
Was thought ages ago....

An ominous beginning one would think for a book of verse. But then you read it again and you can't escape the inevitability of it all. And yet we think, we write for the better or verse. Nirmaldasan aka N. Watson Solomon runs through a gamut of emotions in his second book 'A Pocket Book Of Rhymes'. At a cursory glance -- but why would one want to just glance? -- one could be a little saddened by some thoughts, but the optimism and the humour stand out. Sample this from his series of Epigrams:

Women may come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.
Surely men come and go
Talking of Marilyn Monroe.

Don't we all do that! That's where Nirmaldasan has his hands on the pulse of life. At times what seems just a mundane thought transforms with a couplet putting the whole in perspective. 'The Clock' firmly brings it out.

Humour is an intrinsic part of his work. Clerihews, in which he uses up imaginary people, is something one would like to come back again and again, just for its lightness and humour. That doesn't mean he is frivolous. He has an uncanny ability to keep his feet on ground, look at life's vicissitudes and yet laugh at it. It is almost 'sufiist'. Sample 'Hiroshima Blues' or one of his triolets 'Over Sixty' or 'Crow's Droppings'.

Nirmaldasan is no stickler for norms and is quite willing -- almost compulsively -- to experiment be it form or even the feel. To his advantage he has a good sense of rhythm and is sensitive to words. It is his sense of adventurism that makes him come up with 'ABC Counsels'. In these days when chicken soups and various dishes proclaim to cater to the soul, these grandma hints do sound moralistic. Nothing wrong with it, though one does tend to cringe.

He does make it up well with his 'Epistle To Daniel Premkumar'. The hand of the muse is unmistakeably present in this letter to a long-time-no-see friend. And equally inspiring is the Printer's Devil. The poet has given an impish cloak to an inevitability -- the typo. And not only that, the impish clown is secular too! A perfect alibi for all writers, this one is certainly one among the best.

There is a trouble inherent with compilations. The brilliance of a few of them takes the gloss of the normal ones. In itself, perhaps in all probability, each could stand on its own, but in the company of the exalted few they tend to lax.

On the whole a delightful job. You need not be a student of poetry to enjoy this one. And what more, it is inspiring. As the poet himself says:

He who steals a thought or two
Will find himself among stars.

One can get in touch with Nirmaldasan and his works at https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan. At present he heads the Department of Media Studies, Hindustan College of Arts and Science, Padur. For copies email nirmaldasan@hotmail.com