A poet in the traditional mould

-- This review apppeared in http://sapclean.blogspot.com on Thursday, July 17, 2008 --

Nirmaldasan, a multi-faceted writer -- poet, critic, scholar, academic, and online journalist -- has come out with his third collection of poems to mark the silver jubilee of his poetic odyssey.

Titled Silver Jubilee & Other Poems it explores ballads, lyrics, psalms, echo poems, didactic verse, and even haikus and shows his mastery in every form.

The themes are varied, from Silappathikaram to modern city delusions.

In "Diwali Villanelle" he writes:
"I'll smile like the morn and blow like the breeze.
Everyday to me a Diwali is
Till mistress Death seals mine eyes with a kiss."

The poem "Rain" is a gem. It evokes the awesome fury of nature. Rain connotes a war of the clouds, with the rumble of thunder and the flash of lightning. It is also a blessing on the earth. The poet, however, has slept through it all. He regrets he has missed the rain. But no matter.

"The grass is wet and I bend
And steal a drop of rain."

He still regrets he has missed the morning rain. But again there is the compensation. The Neem tree has saved it for him.

"I have always loved the Neem,
A green sky beneath the blue.
Two squirrels chase each other
And shake the leafy boughs.
The rain I missed this morning
The neem had saved for me."

The poems all have a universal appeal. They deserve a universal audience.