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| THE BLADE OF GREEN GRASS by RAVI RANGANATHAN |
It is my privilege to review Ravi
Rangnathan's second book of poetry 'blade of grass' (Read about Ravi’s firstbook ‘Lyrics of Life’, here). In this book of his, I find a very calming touch
of expression, starting with the memory of mother and her presence in our
lives, reflecting upon the fact that even after our parents leave us, they live
in us. I could completely relate to this poem of his coz I can relate to the
memories of my mother who passed away when I was a child. In totality, the
mother is the divine blessing and the divine inspiration for us to move ahead
and not come to a halt and Ravi has expressed this beautifully in ‘Mother’s
blessings’.
In 'Liberation' and 'fettered'
one can feel the beauty of nature weaved with truth of life, of being, of
moksha and of how life binds us, how in mundane everyday life we fail to notice
the bigger picture, the beauty of it.
I loved 'Gazing the gauze', where
the poet questions how far outside we can see or look and how deep inside can
we search? Can we look beyond things; can we dive deep into deeper selves? Can
we muse? Can we look? The feel of this poetry is beautiful and can be best felt
when read by the reader himself / herself.
Another good poem is ' O' The disguised
one '. The mysteries and disguised truths eventually come to surface.
Mystery cannot be hidden for long from the seekers. This poetry in all its
simplicity reflects upon how the seeker sees beyond mystery and may or may not
reveal the truth to the world, but his eyes always behold the truth that he
sees, even when others fail to have the vision. A beautiful poem indeed!
'Seasons cannot cage me' is a motivational write.
You cannot be restricted beyond your will to do things in life, to follow your
passions. Learn to grow out of circumstances and use your strong will as a
thrusting force. Nothing can restrict you beyond your will.
'World peace within us' is a multilayered poetry,
which on one hand talks of peace that can be established by the people of the
world. Nothing can be done alone, a team effort is required. On other hand, it
expresses that we exist in the world n world exists in us, and we should not
forget that wherever we are, we are same human species. So, let us (you and me)
join hands and hold the peace of the world in our hands.
'Alongside' is another powerful
poetry aptly questioning the nature of divide that prevails in every sector and
almost every aspect of human life. When the Mother Nature is unbiased, the
flowers impart their fragrance, the sun and the stars impart their light in an
un-biased manner, then why is human existence so divided?
'Alone but not lonely' is another good write
differentiating loneliness from solitude stating that the path of spiritual
growth is the path of solitude and not loneliness. I loved this micro poetry
coz in few words Ravi ji expressed profound truth that we fail to see n live in
the process of living.
A beautiful message can be read in Ravi's 'patience
infinite?'. The elements of Mother Nature are silent and have patience and
like that you must also have patience in life. Things will come to you at the
right time.
One lovely thing about Ravi's poetry is the
effortless expression that a reader of any age can relate to and be inspired
from. It delivers long lasting message to mankind. It helps child gain guidance,
youth gain knowledge and the old gain wisdom. You will also find poetry on
various themes, feelings, events in life, poetry enjoying the beauty of nature
like in the 'dwelling in/on Palani' , or like the day at Parambikulam
forest Reserve (kerela) or like the blade of green grass, the
youthfulness and the modern tech stuffs ( enjoyable reads like 'not reacheable'),
spirituality ( like Shiva - that which is not'), poetry of love and many
other subjects. It is an enjoyable read.
Some poems like 'If i could pack your
pain away', 'tell me that story', 'fragrance of sadness', 'dream again', 'be
the Joan of spark', 'for better or for verse?', 'living out', 'i have asked
time to stand still' are beautiful poems to feel the ecstatic emotion
that flows through words. In the end you will get to read interesting haiku
poetry as well. In all, there is a beautiful world of poetry that will keep you
intrigued and at the receiving end of wisdom while you enjoy the book - the
blade of green grass.
I will recommend this beautiful book of
poetry to everyone who likes to read good enjoyable poetry which is easy on the
reading mind and thoughtful for the musing soul.
My rating: 4.2 / 5
Some of my favorite
verses:
'My mother silently sits
on the edge of my pupils'
'Open inner vision and
get my grace'
'Entire Earth sits on the
tip of my thoughts'
- Mother's blessings.
>>>>>
'Will you gaze outside
for illumination?'
Twist contours of even
your shade,
Distort every layer of
meaning,
Grapple you till you are
color - blind.'
- Gazing the Gauze
>>>>>
'Will you focus inward
deep?
Going beyond that tidal
sweep.
Deeper, deeper near to sight.'
- Gazing the Gauze.
>>>>>
'I perceive you deeply in
inured subtleness,
In inner recess of
whatever sacredness
Is left of me after a
scorching, ruthless sieve
In the embalmed
etherealness of my mute silence.'
- O' the disguised one.
>>>>>
'Autumn cannot wear me
As an armour to
camouflage.
I will streak out of
spring
In search of my own
Leaving all seasons far
behind.'
- seasons cannot cage me
>>>>>
'When our hands clasped
It was like piecing the
puzzle.
Your hand whispered in my
hand -
It was like soul meeting
soul...
....
Holding the peace of the
world
In the palm of our
hands...'
- world ( peace ) within
us.
>>>>>
'We always want to be him
or her.
We want to be this or
that.
We do not want to move or
stir.
We get into a glut,
willing to rot.'
- if we are we
>>>>>
'Awesome twilight time
Only me and the quiet
scene
River gliding at its own
sweet will
Yet it is not quite
QUIET'
- not quite quiet
>>>>>
'How do i enjoy the
monsoon moods?
Take a walk, drench
myself, unleash
All my dormant cells under
strain?'
- monsoon moods
>>>>>
My dream does not die a
natural death -
Builds up, layer upon
layer, consuming all my nights'
- dream again.
>>>>>
'You just love or don't
love.
Love is never, ever
forever.
Met her now after five
years...
She was with her little
son,
So was I with mine.
Met as strangers!
'Happy'? I asked.
'Contended?' She asked...
'Love' is a mere story,
history;
Living 'life' is the real
pristine glory....
- so what if not on same
page.
>>>>>
'Come my love, what i
long for,
What I only yearn,
Is your look of love
Even if not for me, at
least
For my all - pervading
possessiveness....'
- if only for you.
>>>>>
'He won a number of foes,
frictions and woes;
Could hardly find him
happy, hardly at peace.
- was he not always
right?
>>>>>
'Living in' is not the
'in' thing now, living out is...
- living out.
>>>>>
'Her love for him
Written in blood finger
pricked
Valentine pledge...'
- haiku
>>>>>
'Happy to be just a blade
of green grass
In a garden of poets.'
- the blade of green
grass.
>>>>>>
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Ravi Ranganathan is
a retired Banker leading a quiet life at Chennai. Very interested in poetry.
Writes poems on all topics that catch his fancy and his poems in various
online poetry pages are very well received. He has contributed to many
anthologies of poems and won many awards in poetry competitions. He has to his
credit two poetry books containing collection of his poems entitled "Lyrics
of Life" and "The blade of green grass." published by Xpress publications and Authorpress respectively.
Review by
Dr. Prerna Singla
Founder & Editor-in-chief - Hall of Poets
Author :
"The Crown of Sekhmet", “The Bible of Marriage”
This review is a copyrighted intellectual
property of Dr. Prerna Singla and must not be copied in any form without prior
written permission from Dr. Prerna Singla. For permission, write at: hallofpoets@gmail.com
To get your novel / poetry book reviewed, write to me at: hallofpoets@gmail.com
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