Poetry is always an expression that comes from the deeper consciousness of a person. The poet who writes shares powerful impressions that do not bother what medium or language they use to express those. After his debut English poetry collection, which also became an Amazon bestseller, “Poetry: a garland of words,” the young poet Margesh Rai is back with another groundbreaking work, this time in Hindi with the title, “Khushboo Bikherti Pagdandiyan.” published by Evincepub Publishing, a leading self publishing company in India. Like the debut work, this work is also deeply rooted in nature which finds its reflection in the modern form in Rai’s poetry. The readers who are already familiar with Kumar’s debut work would feel instantly attracted to read this collection too. Like his earlier work, they would find many ideas that the poet has discussed at length in his poetic style.
As the readers begin to flip the pages of “Khushboo Bikherti Pakdandiya,” they get to read the words from the poet’s pen, which explain the story behind the creation of the work and what is the subject of the poems the author has written. They get to know that poetry’s subject matter is not merely nature or a typical Words worthen landscape. Instead, it finds its inspiration among the common folk, human nature, and life in general. This helps the readers to connect with the work better and more closely. In the collection of 120 poems, Rai collects his thoughts on various subjects that range from relationships to observations to his philosophy of life and the way he sees things. Through his spectrum, he tries to show the readers the world through his eyes and perceptions. The readers also can connect with Rai as a poet and find some memorable poetry in their hands as they read through “Khushboo Bikherti Pagdandiyan.”
Rai takes the readers in the world he had created in his debut work and helps them explore their imagination’s depths through his poetic words. He keeps the medium of writing as Hindi, which brings the work closer to the heart of a native reader and speaker of the language. Almost all poems carry this flavour and help the readers connect with their roots more closely. Some of the memorable poems in this regard include “Astitva,” “Parde,” “Bahaduri ki Misaal,” “Gumnam Maseeha,” “Murjhaye Phool,” and many more. Every reader would find one or the other poem with which he can connect and relate in some way.
In a book that stretches to less than 100 pages, Rai writes poems of varying lengths. Poems like “Maa,” “Sharbati Zindagi,” “Waterproof Yaadein,” “Gazal-e-Raat,” “Meri Ibadat,” “Hindi,” “Aadatein” and many others are the shorter ones which could go to as short as being of 2 lines. In comparison, the number of longer poems is equally large among the 120. These include “Guftagu,” “Dil ki Bhadaas,” “Bahaduri ki Misaal,” “Akhand Bharat,” “Subah ka Manzar,” “Gulab Diwas,” “Meri Kalam,” and many more. The author explores the themes in this collection that revolve around nature, people, relationships, life, love, beauty in little things, the poet on his being an artist, etc. The poems are a clear record of the different moments when the poet would have had thoughts of writing them and wrote them at different times.
“Khushboo Bikherti Pagdandiyan” is a collection that has poetry for all. This is one of the few books that can be kept at a person’s bedside, and they can read the poems time and again. Due to the author’s short and crisp style, the readers may find the book worthy of being read again and again, as a result of which they would like to keep the book handy and in their reach. Compared to the former debut work, “Khushboo Bikherti Pagdandiyan” shows a maturing artist in Rai and his further exploration of his skills as a writer. Therefore, this book is suggested to all readers who have read his former work to understand and observe these developments. At the same time, younger and grown-up readers can equally enjoy the job due to the diverse nature of the content the poet has explored and the variety of themes he has included in the collection.
Reviewed by: Akhila Saroha, The Literature Times
