Bhaskar Parichha
A little over twenty five poems,varied and sensible.That sums up Satyanarayan Mishra’s maiden poetry collection ‘Staring At The Sky.’ He has been writing poems and short stories in Odia and has a couple of collections in the native language too. What’s more, he has been awarded by Chandigarh’s Prachin Kala Kendra for Odissi vocal music. Mishra is also a member of ODISHA Bigyan Academy.
Each of the poems in this anthology carries a subtle meaning.They say so much yet so little.At times they are abstract and at other times they are down to earth.The Face is one poem which has an evolutionary feel. Sample this:’No face can forever stay the same/It opens up ,keeps opening up and finally cracks/It crumbles to the ground.’
In ‘Intractable’, the poet is is bewildered about the helplessness of man in an unknown existence.In ‘Do You really Change’,he exhorts poets to keep on writing whether that changes the world or not:
‘ You better come back to your senses,O Poet/And try and write,if you can/The poem of her mind/Her futile struggle to get justice/And all those sordid,murky tales too.’
Many of the poems in the collection are symbolic in nature and heavily dependent on local legends.He draws upon mythologies to substantiate his feeling as a poet. ‘A Hundred Bows To You’ is a poem on Konark – the Black Pagoda and Chandrabhaga the beach.The poet’s gut feeling is that another Konark can’t be built.So he pays tribute to those twelve hundred craftsmen who with their chisels built this magnificent temple which is now in shambles.’You must have felt the pangs of bereavement/Of the artistes who, through their impeccable art/Expressed their rhythmic beauty/Of the dancing damsels.’
Almost all the poems in the anthology have a clear message.Spirituality,romance,
Simplicity is the hallmark of Satyanarayan Mishra’s poems.They are evocative and at the same time commonplace.
Staring At The Sky
By Dr Satyanarayan Mishra
Evincepub Publishing/Literoma
Parijat Extension
Bilaspur
Chhatisgarh -495001