This book is now out of print. It came out in 1992.
Every book belongs to an era. 2024 is not the right era for half of this book. But for the other half, it is still relevant.
The writing is crisp and intelligent. The metaphors are well drawn. Sarcasm drips in the right dose from every line.
One of the strangest things on earth
is a place they call school.
while the place is meant for learning,
you learn out of as a rule.
At some places, there is timeless angst:
without a motherland to defend,
a soldier should kill who?
In a poem called Life Management, he presents a view that many of us will chuckle and agree with:
The long-term objectives
vs the short-term goals;
the debate is endless
but the theory has holes.
The futility of words is rued at the end of a long poem on the subject:
Great poets, thinkers, and the like
will come and go for ever
they can't change a thing
but fill library shelves forever.
It is in education and politics that his comments are most incisive. One can debate their practicality, and that is what makes them food for thought. On education:
The whole outlook on education
needs a revolutionary U-Turn
each to his needs should be the aim
not to his age as is the pattern.
Love for nature is also very evident at more places than one. But this paragraph stands out:
It its truest sense
the rainbow should come
before the rain;
as
then at its end would be
not only
a pot of gold
but a shower
of rubies
and gems
and diamonds.
The poems I especially liked are Coloured Vision, and the series on Indian recipes.
Coloured Vision:
If green is the colour
of leaves
It can't be the colour
of envy.
If blue is the colour
of the sky
how can I ever feel blue?
If red is the colour
of the glowing sunset
how can it mean danger?
If black is the colour of
a starry night
how can black bring bad luck?
If white is the colour
of a new born day
how can white stand for mourning?
Reason #142587 that I love secondhand books: I got an author signed copy of the first edition - 1992!!!
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