Poetry
On The Wings of Poesy
RAMESHINDER SINGH SANDHU
"Prose = words in the best order, poetry = the best words in the best order," so said Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of the greatest of English poets.
I spoke to some students of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and Guru Angad Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, to find out how young minds and hearts were proud of experimenting with poetry.
LANGUAGE OF THE HEART
Sarabjeet Singh, a PAU student who had been declared the best poet at the recently concluded youth festival at the university, defined poetry on behalf of all.
"Your mind and heart has to be clean and sensitive for good poetry. It is the language of the heart, our feelings, and our thoughts and can manifest anytime in any colour," says Sarabjeet.
Talking about inspiration, Taranjot Kaur Dosanjh says, "I have been writing poems since I was a kid but started taking it seriously only about four years ago when I noticed a young girl, hearing and speech impaired, who was seated right next to me in a bus. She wanted to express something that I failed to understand, but her smile touched my heart. The same night, I wrote a long poem about it and how I was lucky to have the power of speech."
She says since then she has continued to write regularly, especially when it comes to expressing emotions and feelings.
VOICE FOR SOCIAL ISSUES
For Jashandeep Singh, it was his grandfather, a Punjabi professor, who influenced him.
"I feel poetry is the power of silence. I wrote my first poem in Class 7 on Punjabi culture. It all happened because my grandfather was a Punjabi professor and was an avid reader of Punjabi poetry. He often shared poems with me and he would always take me to meetings on poetry.
“In such an environment, my love towards poetry was natural and now hardly a day goes by when I don't pen my thoughts. I mostly write on Punjabi culture, my mother tongue, love and other subjects," he says.
Interestingly, like Jashandeep Singh, Jagreet Singh Virk also credits his grandfather for his love for poetry.
"Right from my school days, my grandfather would gift me a new story book or a book on poetry. After all, he believed that books are like best friends that can enrich the mind to be its best. Gradually, I developed a love for poetry, especially those that talked about social issues. My personal diary holds a huge collection of poetry on various social issues such as unemployment, drugs, female foeticide, to name a few," says Jagreet.
KEEPING THE PASSION ALIVE
On being asked how penning down one's thoughts felt like, Jaspreet Singh and Harjeet Kaur explain: "The mind becomes peaceful and the heart touches the highest element of satisfaction. When friends and other readers applaud our creativity, it makes us very happy that our words have touched a chord with them. Getting our message across is the aim," say the duo.
Amandeep Singh, who says he is inspired by poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi and television shows on poetry, adds that all poetry lovers from both the universities regularly hold meetings and special sessions to keep their passion for words alive.
"We encourage each other to write more and such meetings infuse more creativity in us as we listen to each other. Most times, our sessions are so engaging that we don't want them to stop at all," adds Amandeep.
[Courtesy: Hindustan Times. Edited for sikhchic.com]
November 20, 2014