|
|
|
|
Blogs by anupam mukhopadhyay
Contemporary Bangla Lyric
10/17/2008 3:49:04 AM
lyric --- the term is now not an easy word in contemporary bangla poetry . it no longer denotes a fairly short poem with musical appeal . it is no longer uttered by a single speaker . the poet does not express a simple state of mind .
lyric --- the term is now not an easy word in contemporary bangla poetry . it no longer denotes a fairly short poem with musical appeal . it is no longer uttered by a single speaker . the poet does not express a simple state of mind .
it started with ' padabali poets (16th and 17th century) '. they used the celebratedmythological love-story of ' radha-krishna '. they were god and goddess in human form . krishna ( Bishnu Himself incarnated to destroy evil ) loved radha ( Lakshmi ) . but the love in 'padabali poetry ' is not heavenly . it's mundane love . the 'padabali poets ' narrate their sexual relationship openly . the poem could be sung . they are still sung in religious ceremonies . the songs are called ' kirtan '.
in the 19th century poets like Nidhiram Gupta and Biharilal Chakrabarty wrote fine lyrics . Nidhiram's( called Nidhu babu) were meant to be sung as ' tappa '. he tried his best to justify the fact that in bangla there also lyrics could be written to be proper for ' tappa'. and Biharilal was a true poet . his 'saradamangal' is a masterpiece in the tradition .
Rabindranath Tagore was deeply influenced by 'padabali poetry'. he was , perhaps , the only true admirer of Biharilal . Biharilal's soul lived in Rabindranath's poetry throughout his entire poetic career. Rabindra wrote finest lyrics . his 'Gitanjali' stands supreme in bangla lyric . he got Nobel Prize for this book of poems .
however , Rabindranath was not a modern poet in the true sense. from 1930 to 1980 --- it was a bad time for bangla lyric . this was the time for cerebral , intellectual , and social poetry . it started with Jibananda Dash , Sudhindranath Dutta , Bishnu De , Samar Sen , and Buddhadeb Basu . this was the time when lyrical poetry was mistaken for sentimental poetry --- full of tears and stupid enjoyment of sensuality .
true lyric is first noticed in Swadesh Sen's ' Rakha Hoechhe Kamalalebu ' . the book was published in 1982 . it started the ' New Poetry Movement ' in bangla poetry .
the 'New Poetry Movement ' took its cue from Swadesh Sen's poetry . Swadesh used the form of traditional mainstream bangla poetry , but with some remarkable differences . those differences make his poems lyrics in nature . he wrote , not to satisfy the taste of his readers , but to satisfy his heart , his own heart . his world is far from the madding crowd . he has a democratic undertone always , it reminds us of Whitman . he is eager to forgive . he riminds us of Hopkins , of Cummings , of Carlos Williams --- but always in a lyrical way . not melodious , but monotonous , and this monotony is never easy to achieve .
it seems strange that Swadesh Sen's followers refused to accept the fact that Sen wrote the most contemporary lyrics in the then bangla poetry . they spoke against lyric while describing the characteristics of ' New Poetry '. and they all wrote lyrics , may be structurally finer than those written by Sen . but they lacked something that is present in Sen's poems : Sen did not try anything . everything seems to come to him spontaneously .
i am going to publish my next book of poems in 2009 . it has been titled HIGHWAY . it's an experiment of lyric --- lyric : where it should stand in contemporary bangla poetry . the book is going to published under the banner of Natun Kabita ( New Poetry ).
see if ...
Post a Comment new!
More Blogs by anupam mukhopadhyay
• Contemporary Bangla Lyric - Friday, October 17, 2008
• Contemporary Bangla Poetry : a brief summery - Thursday, October 16, 2008
• journey of a poet - Wednesday, October 15, 2008
• simply complex - Monday, September 29, 2008
• FEELS GOOD - Sunday, September 28, 2008
|
|
Bookmarks
