Preface to vibrant moments [Archives:2006/945/Education]

Dr. Aruna Chalam Angappan
Head of English Department
Faculty OF Education
Hadhramout University, Seiyun
[email protected]
Poets, philosophers, lovers and madmen are of the same class)thus goes an ancient, much cliched, and much abused saying. And there it is not without any truth in it. For, every one of this clan of men is possessed by a mania – a mania for fighting wrong, evil, and untruth. An individual – whether a poet, philosopher, lover or madman -is genuinely agitated about the imperative need to establish order, peace, reason, freedom and above all the common weal of humanity. They strive tirelessly and ceaselessly for individual and social justice and peace. Until and unless the goal is attained, such men cannot rest in peace. As such they are part of a process of change, flexible and fluid, ever flowing into a vibrant tomorrow. They only facilitate and expedite this process and never let themselves fossilize into a definable product of their times.

A poet or a philosopher is fired by an afflatus that seeks to guide the human destiny on the right path to its salvation. A salvation not in any religious sense but in the true, essential, humanistic sense of liberation of the individual from many a bond and help him live his life on moral, ethical, and righteous principles. Thus the parameters of this salvation are distinctly different from those of the religious salvation which are good and evil, sin and virtue, etc. This distinction helps show the poet in the light of a genuine agent of social change, not a priest preaching bigoted, acrimonious sentiments.

A lover is in quarrel with himself and with the world only for the realization of his love which in turn can a) free him from the bonds of a meaningless humdrum existence, and b) lead him on to a concentration on affairs that will bring about a happy, interdependent, satisfying, and healthy commune. Likewise, a madman wags his tongue in an inimical world only to crush deception and foul play.

As Sir Philip Sydney thundered into the ears of a bygone era, these lunatics are “the unacknowledged legislators.” And we unhesitatingly claim them to be the 'unacknowledged saviours of humanity' which in the absence of the former may imperil its own very existence.

Certainly it can be argued that all these so-called madmen are in reality zealots struggling selflessly to establish the kingdom of peace and prosperity, brotherhood and freedom on this earth that in every era is hijacked by self-seekers. It may be a paradox that these unselfish souls are surely selfish to the core in their solemn zeal for human welfare. And this selfishness is the benchmark of every great soul, be it the poet's, philosopher's, lover's or madman's.

History is replete with instances of poets, philosophers, lovers, and lunatics who were dubbed crazy and treated dangerous. They are crazy, of course, about the welfare of the human soul, mind, and body but certainly not about the irrational desires, dreams, and demands; and definitely dangerous to the decadent, destructive, and deceptive but not to the decent, decorous, and disciplined members of the civilized society. The various parameters that go into the calling of a great soul as crazy, in fact, constitute the authentic sophisticated sensibility that synergises the contemporary outlook in all periods of human history.

Of late, there is a tendency, of course, as had always been there in every era of human existence, to browbeat and discredit this clan of men. In spite of this continuing vicious tendency to denigrate the high and noble among the occupants of this beautiful planet, we can see that there is no dearth of such souls who defiantly continue to give the clarion call for a change. These initiators of change strive quite selflessly to voice their inner stirrings irrespective of the potent threats to be stoned or clubbed to death or incarcerated to insanity. And thus is saved the sanity of the homo- sapiens.

I take great pride in joining such a band, a tiny one though, through this volume of poems written on occasions of great pains and pleasures, painful pleasures and pleasurable pains; joys and sorrows, joyful sorrows and sorrowful joys both of the narrower personal sphere and of the much broader public domain. It is quite heartening to note that such a band is made vibrant and electrifying by men as great, colossal, and edifying as our philosopher-statesmen like Mr Atal Biharee Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister and Dr A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, the President of this ancient land of acclaimed wisdom. The members of this band of muse-inspired, reforms-fired, and conscience-stirred men and women do not have any axe to grind nor selfish ends to serve except the lunacy to save this corrupt and contaminated world.

I wish I should continue to pour out my self and soul, wit and wisdom however diminutive they are, as long as a Dante or Virgil, a Chaucer or Shakespeare, a Shelley or Keats, a Kamban or Ilango, a Bharathi or Bharathidasan is not dismissed as a liar or lunatic. The relevance of these revered ones cannot be reversed at any point of time and so shall I also be, a tiny speck though in the firmament of maniacs possessed by a desire deep and strong for change – a change for better tomorrow, if not a better today.

I wish, in the ambience of globalization, privatization and marketization around the dawn of the third millennium, it is all the more important that sensitive souls stirred by social sensibilities shall blossom in numbers large to counter the effects of mechanization of human existence, unmindful of the humiliation heaped and the much-longed for recognition ever dodging.

Lastly, a word about the theme and technique: I would like to admit that the form and substance of each of the poems included in this volume are as they were sub-consciously churned out of a soul in torture and not the products of any conscious diktats.

I have another wish also that the poems in this modest volume shall be well received by the reading public at large, and the poetry lovers and the campus community in particular so that the intended initiative for the change is well accomplished.
——
[archive-e:945-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-05-11-p:education]