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Wednesday, 30 March 2011

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Poetess with a mission

Poets all over the world have shown that they are both communicators as well as commentators on various aspects of life. Some poets express their views in metrical patterns while some others have a loyalty to their own free expression denoted as free verse.

Perhaps the underlined factor is made in which one expresses his / her experiences, views, concepts and ideas. As the poet Stephen Spender once stated, “Religion, tradition, morality, patriotism, socialism can all claim with justice that their theses have been woven into tapestries of words by poets.”

The seriousness and the nonseriousness of writing depend upon how the poet sees, and to which extent the poet is knowledgeable to see the world where he lives sensitively. All these go to say that poet and the poetry cannot be undermined.

But it is popularly believed in our country right at the moment that poetry is not widely accepted as a wanted literary genre, and as a result the publishers are rather reluctant to publish a collection of poets.

But as for me poetry however should be read as a mirror which reflects the contemporary life and thoughts. For me poets and poetry should be a subject that should be regarded from a wider spectrum than it is accepted today.

These thoughts peeped into my mind as I went on reading poems of Anuradha Nilmini, a young Sinhala poetess, who had collected 50 of her creations into a single volume titled as Yuga Sthree.

Anuradha Nilmini has been engaged in writing poems, as she says, over a period of two and a half decades. She had engaged herself as a Sinhala journalist in a weekly newspaper. This had been perhaps the breeding ground for her creations. She sees an inner layer of meaning in most areas around her.

For instance when she sees the road warning that men at work ‘Beware’, she reads into various other meanings in the concept. Men here refers to male workers and not female sufferers who work under them. Perhaps the sensitive layers are untranslatable. But it may bring a tinge of a smile to your face.

Then she sees how one could observe the nature of female bodies. It is referred to as a vegetable that could be broken into pieces not appreciating the entirety. Several poems revolve round the subject of isolation, silence, happiness and serenity created to depict the worth of each as against the noisy and humdrum nature of the man made environs.

The poetess also brings to forefront concepts such as questioning herself or rather questioning oneself the value or worth of the very existence. To me some of these poems, as they are too short, give a sense of a certain sudden awakening.

One example is the ayavaya where she sees the span of life spent could be comparable to a budget where a series of economics balancing could be observed. Then we come across several creations where certain aspects of ethnic issues are referred to. Who am I, what am I doing, is this my standpoint, are some of the basic questions sensitively raised within the poetic expression.

I felt in this direction the most sensitive area of questioning is embedded in the poem titled mam. Some of the inherent layers of common subjects become points to ponder in her creations.

They include mostly the subjects that surround maternity, love and filial affinities. She also sees the futility of the nature of some material relationships brought about by mere threshold interest and bonds.

Some examples could be drawn in Perani Pemvathi, Diya saha Mola, Manamalayo and Amma. Some of her creations evoke a sense of humour and irony on manners and beliefs. Taek for example Upasakamma, Kamaraya, and Piruvata.

One creation which I loved to reread is nivaduvaka, where the poetic persona wishes to get s a holiday to go back to the hometown. But it is hinted that the pleasures he or she is going to embrace once you are there may not be fulfilled.

It is a poetic creation which makes one feel a sense of aspirations that bring a sense of happiness within on mere recollections, which may be absent from actual situation. This I felt was somewhat out of the normal creations we come across today. It is said that poetry - whatever the language it is written - is a criticism of language itself.

Furthermore, poetry is concrete, personal and identifiable from the creator to creation. I felt that the poetess Anurdha Nilmini uses several types of language depending on her subject matter.

One good example is Mati Amethi where the reader visualizes a pageant where a minister of is ushered into a place of ceremony in the most glorious manner, with all the traditional sound instruments. But to the creator it is a circular movement in one place, a monotony, devoid of any glory.

Saraswathige Sepeminima, the return of the muse, is yet another poem revolving around the very question of creations and awards bestowed on them. For the poetess the entire mission of award ceremonies is a boredom which brings more disaster, ill will and disharmony and disagreeable with the message of the muse.

In this manner the maiden collection of poems Yugastri by Anuradha Nilmini paves the way for further discussion. Not only her creations but also on other poetic creations of the day.

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