The White Magnolia Tree

Towards the end of March
When the white magnolia flowers
Open upon black barks
Like unblemished bridal dresses
Expectant, quivering, immaculate,
Feeling the primordial emotion of clouds
Like any other cherry tree,
They little know the world they inherit.

As you stand under the white lanterns
And sway with their enceinte desire
You are compelled to believe
In the purity of good intentions,
The joys of elemental fecundity,
Not in the least suspecting
The jealousy of the pink cherry tree,
Or the besotted mood of spring rain.

Representing India, The Nation and Its People

Here is a recently published book on India that you might find interesting. If you wish to read a review of the book please visit Literary India at the following website under the title "Representing the Indian Nation and its People" by Ruchika Mohan:

http://literaryindia.com/Literature/World-Literature/Book-Reviews/Representing%20the%20Indian%20Nation%20and%20Its%20People.html


Representing India: Cultures, Politics, and Identities by Mukesh Williams and Rohit Wanchoo published from Oxford University Press, 2008, Pages 368, Price: £ 24.99 (United Kingdom), Rs. 695 (India) Hardback ISBN-13: 978-0-19-569226-6
The book can be bought from any of the amazon websites.

Obviously every book gives you something, but you have to wait till the very end of the chapter or sometimes even till the very end of the book to find something useful and significant. Representing India gives you tightly packed information in every page. It is obvious from the beginning of the book that Williams and Wanchoo know the subject as well as the best in the area. The book is unique in the sense that it is simply written taking the reader step-by-step from simple to difficult concepts. Both the authors have used their rich and wide-ranging experience as teachers and scholars, both in India and Japan, to deal with the most complicated ideas in a simple, matter-of-fact language. If you wish to write a research paper on India or get an overall view of Indian diversity, the book is worth reading. To give you an idea of the large sweep of the book here is a list of the chapters included in it:

1. The Sanskrit Heritage: Bengali and Hindi Literatures
2. English and Indian English Literature
3. Representing the Nation in the Hindi Media
4. Hindu Politics and the Nation
5. Religious Identities and Politics
6. South Asian Disapora: Negotiating Des Pardes

The footnotes are a beehive of well-documented references and cross-references. It is possible to use the footnotes to develop your newly acquired knowledge about India and delve deeper into any of the areas treated in the book, from languages to Diaspora.

All Saints Cathedral

Who says colonial history
Doesn’t speak to us anymore.
Just look at the gothic spires,
The ballflower ornament,
Of the cream and red sandstones
Of the All Saints Cathedral and
You will see the darkening moss
Spreading like a sermon,
Telling a story of mango-dappled afternoons,
Guava scented mornings,
Where Christ became global
In form and content.

The cloisters are still
Dark and cold in summers,
The stained glass baptistery
Silently biblical and apocalyptic,
The reredo behind the marble alter still redolent
Of a belief in miracles,
The nave with dark teak pews
Echo with the voices of childhood.
If you strain your ears you can still hear
The dull soft choir of yesteryears
Now mixed with the cooing of roosting doves
And the decrepit stain of impermanence.

First written in December 1992, Allahabad and subsequently published in Bestpoem: A Literary Journal, January 7, 2008

Takiyama Kaido

The rain shimmers, slants, swirls
In the brightly-lit Takiyama kaido while
Cars speed past in rain-smoking wheels
Towards many a wonderful pastime.

In the semi-darkness of the sidewalks,
Made darker by sakura tree branches,
Young girls in umbrellas speed-past on bicycles
Laughing and chatting loudly.

The michi-no-eki frogs
Carousing in paddy fields
Sing unequivocally in a chorus
Of the rural past of Hachioji.

As you walk past shuttered windows
You realize the two worlds fighting for survival:
The one fast asleep by late evening,
The other reluctant to go home early.

June 2007, Hachioji

Takiyama Kaido

The rain shimmers, slants, swirls
In the brightly-lit Takiyama kaido while
Cars speed past in rain-smoking wheels
Towards many a wonderful pastime. .

In the semi-darkness of the sidewalks,
Made darker by sakura tree branches,
Young girls in umbrellas speed-past on bicycles
Laughing and chatting loudly..

The michi-no-eki frogs
Carousing in paddy fields
Sing unequivocally in a chorus
Of the rural past of Hachioji.

As you walk past shuttered windows
You realize the two worlds fighting for survival:
The one fast asleep by late evening,
The other reluctant to go home early.

June 2007, Hachioji