I accompanied Manu to call on Mr. Ranjeet Rana, a decorated soldier and a learned man.
We had a great time being with him and his family at his ancestral house at Maranda, Palampur. In between, he read out his poem with all humility. The recital reflected Rana’s thoughts and added passion to the words.
Here, I have transliterated his Hindi poem into Hinglish (Roman script) to pay tribute to the poet.
It may help the poem reach a wider audience who may understand spoken Hindi but cannot read the Devanagari script.
He who creates knows the reason. The poem skillfully says something true. Something imaginative, basically, word-pictures.
When words flow with meaning, they connect ideas. I especially like the way he expressed himself in a raw and granular way.
Looking at the theme, the poem has depth. Each line carries both meaning and emotion. The poet gives details just enough to imagine the whole picture.
The imagery resonates, and I am impressed. He gave us so much to think about. It is a work of genius, indeed.
Prof. (Er.) Chander P Mahajan is an art critic & a free lance journalist. The Environmentalist stays in Shimla and Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh, India.
