Update: Fixed a malapropism, and made a new post on where this came from.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Mr Sibal witnesses
Tehelka reported, and briefly quoted, a book by Kapil Sibal: the science minister, and what's more sinister, a poetic-minded rebel. His poem on SMS did not seem amiss, and his ode to "nano" was fun. It seemed quite a lark: we went to Landmark to hear him read it in person. Eyes bright with passion, he bemoaned the fashion of the UPA confidence vote, which saved the government but demeaned Parliament with displays of currency note. His book, "I Witness", was already in press, but he made a poetic sprint. The ensuing verse, for better or worse, appears in the final print. His poems span themes that, it truly seems, reveal a polyglot polymath brain. Wordsworth could not have covered a lot of the topics he links like a train. No modern verse here: his metre is clear and he's meticulous with his rhymes. An orthodox pen takes, again and again, on various ills of our times. But though it's form-perfect, I feel, with regret, a lack of a deeper emotion. The rhythms may groove, but poems that move you are more than just phonemes in motion.
Update: Fixed a malapropism, and made a new post on where this came from.
Update: Fixed a malapropism, and made a new post on where this came from.
Can't wait for India's first rapping minister. Word to your mother.
ReplyDeleteTehelka reported,
ReplyDeleteand briefly quoted,
a book by Kapil Sibal:
the science minister,
and what's more sinister,
a poetic-minded rebel.
His poem on SMS
did not seem amiss,
and his ode to "nano" was fun.
It seemed quite a lark:
we went to Landmark
to hear him read it in person.
Eyes bright with passion,
he bemoaned the fashion
of the UPA confidence vote,
which saved the government
but demeaned Parliament
with displays of currency note.
His book, "I Witness",
was already in press,
but he made a poetic sprint.
The ensuing verse,
for better or worse,
appears in the final print.
His poems span themes
that, it truly seems,
reveal a polyglot brain.
Wordsworth could not
have covered a lot
of the topics he links like a train.
No modern verse here:
his metre is clear
and he's meticulous with his rhymes.
An orthodox pen
takes, again and again,
on various ills of our times.
But though it's form-perfect,
I feel, with regret,
a lack of a deeper emotion.
The rhythms may groove,
but poems that move
you are more than just phonemes in motion.
And you probably slammed that out in a few minutes. Sometimes when I read what someone else writes, and it's what I call "rhythmic prose" (does anyone else call it that?), I break it up into poetry form. But I didn't expect to find that your post was actually a poem with perfect structure, not that I'm a authority on poetry (I just wing it if I do any).
And speaking of grooving, it does. It's groovy, dude, groovy. It's slammin', bro, slammin'.
An artist who hides his art, that's confidence. Or could there other reasons?
I felt that it made strange reading but did not spot it.
ReplyDeletejf - why did I "hide" it? Good question, which I'll address in a separate post. Yes, it didn't take very long to write.
ReplyDelete