Walking In Flames

preface i know bal krishan pandita when he was my student in govt. higher secondary school kulgam kashmir. he was an intelligent and sensitive boy. we remained in touch even after i left teaching and adopted journalism as my profession and later on became correspondent and news editor in all india radio and he went to banking sector and is presently working as chief manager in a leading public sector bank. in the tumultuous period of early 90’s, we again came closer in udhampur jammu. later on he went to delhi but even the physical separation could not snap our relationship and we kept on talking and writing to each other for a long time but lost each others track for over a decade. this year he established contact with me through facebook and revealed that he has written a number of poems in english and desired to publish them in book form. it was not a surprise for me because bal krishan, as i said earlier, is a sensitive person and has good command over english. he could express himself in verse and communicate his experiences, ideas and feelings rather effectively. he wanted my opinion, so he sent me his poems and i went though them twice. the poems are essentially in free verse and any rhyme scheme is incidental. in poetry feelings and ideas have to be stirring and imagination ought to be deep, rich and unique enough to transport the reader to the world which the poet creates. great ideas can make good poetry but it is not the nature of ideas, experience and emotions which determine the value of poetic art. it is the form, technique and the magic the poet exploits to make his poems, not only readable but mesmerizing. till now great poets have expressed great ideas, virgin experiences and delicate feelings in a very attractive, beautiful and effective style. focusing on the content of the poems, i felt, there are three main themes in the book. a number of poems deal with the pangs of migration of kashmiri pandits from kashmir valley due to militancy and violence which engulfed the valley in 1990 and still continues though on a very low ebb. being compelled to bid adieu to one’s mother land without the hope to return, is certainly one of the saddest tales of “ many a human heart”. for example the following poems, from the book describe the situation just before and after the migration: “those who were once our friends now carry summons of death for us buried in a lonely house is a window we had left for light..” in another poem, he writes “we heard the word “leave” when the blood was let in the streets emotions were suddenly high the message of hatred was the cry ...” second theme is the universal emotion of love. love has been the predominant theme of poetry in all ages, all lands and all languages. it is however, incomplete without the description of beauty. bal krishan has composed some of his best poems on the theme of love and beauty. “let remembrance of your name alone kindle love in human hearts return sight to the blind and health to the sick…” in another romantic poem, he writes “it is a day and she is beside me the beat of my heart tells me so she has tossed her hair aside and her face is bright like a crystal moon in the night…” the poems, together we kindled a fire, my moon, finally i express:, and some other poems deal with love and beauty, in a beautiful and very simple manner. the third important theme is speculation and a bit didacticism. some universal truths are retold in personalized manner. there are suggestions and even advice or exhortation in poems: “free i was when i was born from the chord that bound me but my hunger and craving for further gains only bound me in firmer chains … my longing to eat with a silver spoon made me pawn my freedom and dawn .” the poems; you are not the only one to suffer, surrender to the master, i saw not a thing, power of silence; we are alone, happiness etc are poems loaded with reflections and suggestions. apart from these three main themes, there are other subject matters as well. the variety should make the book more readable. almost all the poems are written in a simple and lucid language. vocabulary is quite impressive and no poem bores the reader. style is also crisp and concise. to conclude i, as a student of literature may say that “walking in flames”, is a good start and shows promise. i am sure readers will enjoy reading the book. m.y.g. nairang

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