Sudhir K. Arora’s Review on Write Son, Write

Dominic. K. V. Write Son, Write. New Delhi: Gnosis, 2011. ISBN: 978-93-81030-25-7. Price: 125/-

Dr. Sudhir K. Arora,

Dept. of English,

Maharaja Harishchandra P. G. College, Moradabad, U.P.

(Appreared in Cyber Literature 29 & 30.1&2 (June-December 2012):144-146.)

K. V. Dominic’s second poetic collection Write Son, Write consists of thirty one poems which reveal his concern for the loss of human values among human beings who do not hesitate to show their cruelty towards animal world and create imbalance in the environment for their selfish gains. The first collection Winged Reason was a genuine attempt from the natural pen of Dominic who raised the expectation of the reader for the second poetic collection. But, Write Son, Write does not meet to the expectation of the reader who, with the poet, flew on the wings of reason in the world where there was a fusion of reality and fancy. It seems that when the creator i.e. the Almighty asks the son i.e. poet to write exhorting “write son, write”, he takes the pen because of Father and begins to write, the result of which is the failure of cadence and flow that come out while piercing the heart though he attempts to prove himself that he is, to quote P. C. K. Prem, “a poet of the masses” longing for “social status with prestige to the poor and the miserable. He lives where the heart of man is and that is the poet’s real strength” (17).

The Almighty asks the poet to look towards the pen’s tip which He himself is. “I am the ball / of your pen; / I am the ink / that flows / on the paper. / Write my son, write” (21). Every molecule bubbles with “rhythm and harmony”, so does verse. It seems strange that birds and animals live happily and never strike the discordant notes as man does. What He has created is useful. Even “living beings and lifeless objects” are “interrelated.” He doubts at His creation when he finds the human being defying Him and claiming “as the noblest” of all His creation. God seems to reflect over His creation of man who goes astray from his true nature.

I breathed in him

celestial values:

happiness, beauty,

peace, love , mercy;

but he fosters

hate and violence;

kills his kith and kin;

shows no mercy

to animals and plants. (28)

God seems to be angry with man who kills His creations. The poet believes that man can learn virtues like “pure love, happiness, hard work, suffering, kindness, patience, sharing, fellowship, gratitude” from Nature, animals and birds. God loves all and “showers love / and looks after / His creation” (31). God is one but religious mafias have created many with the concept of heaven and hell to frighten the masses. These mafias give God certain qualities like “Angry God” and “Punishing God”, loot “billions from the laity” and build religious places to misguide the human beings. The truth is that God is pleased only with the work and service to the needy, the animals and the trees. As God resides in all, why should he “seek Him in churches and prayer halls” (51)?

The poet believes that mother’s love is “the purest love and divine love” and never forgets her the way she reared. From his mother, he comes to Mother India whose face he finds “sad and gloomy” because of her children who “surrender their souls to communal devils”, the result of which is that that they “give way to / terrorism, communalism, and regionalism” (42). The poet knows the cause of Mother India’s tears which flow because of religious, political and intellectual mafias.

The poet is conscious of the environment which is being polluted by the human beings who knowingly exploit plants and animals for their gains. The poet talks of train blast which was executed by the Maoists but he complains why Krishna does not punish these terrorists.

Krishna,

why are you

so indifferent?

Can’t you punish

these terrorists

as you punished

Asuras? (86)

The poet has mentioned animals like cat and cow, birds like crow and people like Aung San Suu Kyi, T. J. Joseph, Mohammed Rafi in poems after poems. He loves rivers and oceans which seem to be “embodiments of cosmic reality” (99).

Now, the poet determines to write more and more so that he may get maturity enough to communicate what he wishes through figures and images. Karma is the key that will unlock the locks and help him in treading the path that leads to the healthy humanity. God seems to reveal the secret of life thus:

My dear son, live in Karma,

love all creations,

for I am in everything. (96)

The poet has come to realize that God has a mission in his creation and so he will continue to write with the hope that one day the human beings who have gone astray will return to the right path and serve human being, living and non-living considering that God resides in all the creatures. As he is His true son, he will write till He says stops. While going through Write Son, Write, the reader experiences the poet’s personal experiences, feels much grieved to see the contemporary scenario dotted with decay and degeneration in human values and finds the poet recommending karma and love for the global harmony.