A Candid Deliberation upon Public Opinions on Poetry by Sonnet Mondal* 
 

INDIA: I start this article fixing the aerial or tentacles arising out from the juncture of my heartfelt feelings and grey matter to those who are concerned with the modern scenario of poetry and poetic works. I will not to be too philosophical, too aesthetical or too demanding while writing this. That would annihilate my relation with my pen.

Five years ago when I started penning verses, I never thought to publish a book or to win titles but there were enough people to support me in my works. A natural urge to write followed. After five years when I am coming to interact with people, experiment with several forms of poetry and above all lend a furtive ear to murmurs going on about poetry writing, I feel pained and abased. No, no one dishonors me or any poet who has established himself in the genre or has earned a wide fame for moving his writing instruments. The hitch is with those who love poetry more than we do, to become a fully devoted one to this particular form of expression. They reverie of getting published but are ruled with a hard scale by the present day editors and big names in the field. Naming not I have often heard the statement, “Who will read me” from several young poets and the statement, “We do not understand poetry” from general mass or people involved in other jobs.

No one in the world is born with a taste. I will give a personal experience. I had a pet dog years ago which liked eating fruits much more than meat. Does that mean dog is a better herbivore than carnivore? What I just did was that apart from milk I used to make the puppy drink fruit juices. The pineapple juice was its most favorite. Dogs, an evolution of wolfs can be herbivorous! Just because it had its first taste in that what I gave it. Well, I would never have given soil or stones to eat.

We do not need to concentrate upon bringing such bizarre changes but what we can do is, make our young age bracket a bit literary minded with a love towards poetry. Parents have the beginning key. People in high posts must participate widely. The taste would automatically develop.

Taking a look at the journey of poetry since the 4th Millennium B.C., the epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving poetry written in 4000 B.C. The rich writings in Vedas [1700-2000 B.C.], the Epics of Mahabharata, Ramayana, Epic of King Gesar, the Iliad, Odyssey all were written in Poetry form. Famous as epic poems they still remain of prime significance to the greatest interests of the world such as Life and Death, relations etc. We can often hear quotations from these while hearings elite lectures. Moving on, one after the other poets like Petrarch, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Shelly, Milton, Keats have left landmarks in the genre. With the advent of the Modern era literary forms underwent stern changes. One can see poets writing in contrasting Sonnet Mondal*, POETA del MUNDO:
http://www.poetasdelmundo.com/verInfo_asia.asp?ID=5384

Publication: 25-01-2010