By: Soma Roy

This book of poems by Dr. Kiriti Sengupta is elegant and is a pleasure to hold. The depth of the richness of the images of the Floating Lamps invites the reader to explore further and accompany the Poet on his journey Beyond The Eyes.

This collection has the following lines on its open page before the table of contents and these successfully sets the tone for the rest of the book –

On the ascending shoots

Your fear matures

A few apprehensions as well

Your roots hold it tighter

Desperately deeper

And much deeper rests your God.

The poems are imbued with spirituality and philosophy, entwined with a refined sense of command over the intended contents. This we feel when the Poet writes-

And as soon as he spotted the third eye

My spirit echoed

I fell in love with myself

With the sole existence

And, when he writes –

The word ‘denser’ does not

Necessarily mean thicker

Divine blessings are frequently showered

Unconditionally

Or this –

None has claimed the body yet…it won’t speak on

its own…to announce identity…distended with

an unborn life, it seems…

Or even this-

The midwife screamed in utter frustration

‘Hey! Cry out.’

On the other side of the closed door

The father was eager to hear his baby

one can then tell that he has a keen understanding of the mysteries and miracles of life.

The Poet uses haiku-like details to heighten his reader’s sensitivity throughout the book, as in –

Not in water

But awake

In the soil

And also –

I know

Air and age are linked

Since eternity

The Poet’s writings are nuanced and sentient. I particularly liked the tactile quality of these lines –

When you have time my child

Come to the river…

And –

This is rather reaching you

As if you are the destination…

The main thread that beads most of the poems is ‘Water’, which denotes movement. The poems speak of two types of movement – one is temporal and the other is spatial, one is portrayed in a metaphorical language like –

A spoonful of water was all they wished

And –

Water here is not the fire-extinguisher

The flames ascend through water

The other is portrayed in a literal way, as in –

The womb carries water- so do your eyes

Water builds the fetus

That becomes ‘I’

And –

I reach the sky

While I draw a circle in the water

Or –

O Sun, I remember

I’ve bathed you feet with the water of the Ganges……

The poems do not require pictures to complement them, but the sets of poems and photos are woven in such a way that one sheds light on the other. Together they constitute a poetic offering just like flowers and sandalwood paste on a Puja thali.

I have been reading and re-reading the poems for the past few days and I am still working through all possibilities. Each poem is like a pebble thrown by the Poet into the still pond of my mind, and the ripples created have made me receptive to his poetic expressions each time I read them.

Kiriti Sengupta
Healing Waters Floating Lamps
Moments Publications
ISBN -13:9789384180232
Pages 63// Price Rs.150-

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Soma Roy (b.1959) translates from English to Bangla and vice versa and also from German. Some of her translations have appeared in magazines and e-zines like Indian Literature(Sahitya Akademi), Wild Violet, Choreo Mag Durbasha, Pyrta etc. Two books of poems translated by her, Marigold Moments and Rabindranath need special mention. Email:somaa1@gmail.com