BOOK REVIEW - HEARTFELT SYMPHONIES BY CHINMAYEE GAYATREE SAHU

 

The cover image is remarkable, and the poems evocative, as they traverse across realms as varied as Nature, Fire and finally Life. The first poem strikes a chord as it evokes Devi, the goddess and exhorts the world to give the living Devi in flesh and blood “the status she so rightly deserves”. Likewise, the next poem is an ode to Shiva, the Maha among all the Devas.

From there on, the words in the following poems work like a rhapsody and Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu plays with them with abandon. Right from the appeal of dusk “creating melodies that rhyme/with the windchimes in my heart”, the summer heat that teaches the lesson that this too shall pass, to the effervescence of the twinkling stars that guide one on to meaningful paths, and winter the season of hope, “festivities and merry making” “bidding sorrow a bye” the images entice the reader. Nature is at her most beautiful as the poet waxes eloquent about the striking maple leaf, the fields of gold, the dancing waves like the caress of a loved one, the floating swans in unison, and the almost religious tone of the river merging into the ocean.

Some of the descriptions are exquisite. In the poem, ‘The Winds of Change’,  there is a beautiful expression of love. “I peeped out of the window, /when the wind displaced my tresses,/reminding me of you, doing the same”, with a undertone of sorrow in the lines that follow – “hearts building a castle of cards”. 

The Rainbow is a “lyrical poetic curve”, magnificent and serene, and the dandelion “fragile yet soulful” as it spreads “happiness and cheer”. The poet leads the reader to the “magical, mystical and incredible Woods” in “the echo of the wild”.

The Muse in section 2 is ‘Fire’ in all its myriad forms; Agni that plays a significant role in a woman’s life from birth to wedlock to death, the light of kindness that  drives out the darkness, and fire and ice that are eternal lovers holding each other. The passion of love brings fulfillment and trust, while it is the fire within which teaches lessons of survival. And what about the whimsical firefly that “seems to dismiss the darkness’s wrath’? 

The Muse in the final section is Life itself. It starts with the sad story of instant gratification on social media, and the need to live for oneself, independent of false knights in shining armour. As the poet goes on to compare life to travel, “life is an uncertain path, and veiled”, one hears echoes of Shakespeare’s “life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his way upon the stage, and then is heard no more.” On this journey, the choices may be tough, and the destination may be unreachable. Keep going without losing heart for hope lies eternal. 

As Wordsworth said in ‘The Solitary Reaper’ – “The music in my heart I bore, / Long after it was heard no more.” That is exactly what one feels after traversing the poetical landscape envisaged by this outstanding poet.

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