Review by Robinson
Reviewing poetry is like viewing into the
poet’s private mind, interpreting for oneself and others what he may or may not be
trying to convey.
The first thing that strikes one is the title
itself – Appassionata, and the painting on the cover, of the mythical image of
Venus or Aphrodite, which has always reflected the idea of love, transformation and
feminity across times and cultures.
The second thing is the multiplicity of
issues mentioned on the back cover, which suggests something or the other for people
of varied tastes from romanticism to contemporary issues, ending with the words,
"Truly a symphony of passion."
What follows inside, indeed, is a symphony of
passion. The chronological placing enables the reader not only to see the development of
thoughts over the various periods – early, middle and later years - but also points
to the kind of issues that appealed to the poet and affected him to respond in verse.
Sanjay Trehan’s poetry thus represents
his views on issues affecting him, and his responses to it. Where he stands out is in
the variety of subjects that has evoked in him – Responses – some quite strong
and telling, as in the case of the poems on Gujarat.
The early years is an interesting
insight into what went in the mind of a young man at that time - few would dare to put
into prose, let alone verse - but verse does make it all the more beautiful and that is
what Sanjay expresses.
Whereas most of the poems dwell on a beloved,
his longing for her, her beauty, feelings of joy and the sadness of separation like in the
poem appassionata: icon one to icon six, or too much too soon. There are
some short poems in this part that are quite beautiful like the young today, which
is equally applicable even now.
the young today
innocence thaws
at the alter
of ambition
and time
as the hot glare
of the creeping flames
sweeping her long bulging
tongue swallows blooms
and daisies
what remains is
an unearned
I
Or the poem sound of silence which
dwells on the inward looking or the four small poems to begin with - all these
are reflections of the contradictions within a young man – ‘mind’,
‘body’, desire for change and to be loved moving in continuum.
The middle years starts with the poem
a poet is reborn, quite appropriate as the gap between early and middle is a good
four years. It shows the changes within the poet, like in cross examination part two:
relationships and psychosomatic Muse; one to six.
Interestingly this part has only 12 poems,
which seems to have been a period of learning and coming to terms with oneself.
The later years which starts after
another siesta of four years and sees the flowering of all that was learned in the middle
years as Sanjay comes into his own and understandably is the largest part of the
collection of poems where his multi-facetedness comes into being.
From the fantastical am i gonna fly to cybersex
cantos, the deeply moving Gujarat trilogy, which would evoke response from each
of us, to Kankhal; a lost innocence to minority report, a futuristic world
and conversation, all make for keen reading.
The collection ends with the poem titled road,
which ends with the verse:
life goes on
drive carefully
which is a timely reminder to the readers to take stock of our changing times and act with
concern for others.
Overall, Sanjay's poetry gives something to
people of all age groups to reminiscence and ponder and therein lies the beauty of this
collection of poetry.
Robinson is a Delhi-based theologian who
writes and enjoys reading poetry.
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