When emotions take a plunge into the deep-seated ideas in a person’s mind, the first expression is generally poetic. Poetic expressions have depth, resonating meanings, a sense of heaviness, and also a ripple effect in terms of meanings. A work incarnating all the above characteristics is Sandeep Rathi’s poetry collection, “Firaq: Ikraar se Inkaar Tak.” As a debut work by the poet, the poetry collection features a depth of thoughts that were born out of introspection and close observations.
The book cover of “Firaq” gives a sense of being away from worldly temptations and being more of an observer than the one who is involved in the action. True to its title, the book conveys a sense of search, finding something or someone. This feature of a sense of search is something that would be relatable for many. This air of a search pervades the atmosphere of the book and gives it an air of calmness and serenity at the same time. The title also holds more than one meaning alongside. “Firaq” is an Urdu word that means separation. “Ikrar se Inkar tak” defines a story from accepting a relationship to its ending. In other words, the Author wants to narrate a powerful story of his life through poems. Those who understand the verse hold a bold personality to accept a person in any form.
The collection features poetry where the poet addresses a person at different junctures. Sometimes the person is based on his personal experiences, while at other times, the person could be anyone. While the poems of the former kind like “Jao Usise Pyaar Karo,” “Tumhara Phone Nahi Aaya,” “Uska Message Aaya,” “Meri Kahani” “Tumhe Koi Ilm hi Nahi” and many more are profoundly personal, the later poems are more of a kind with which the readers can also relate. These include “Aisa Mat Karo,” “Kuch Aisa Karde,” “Social Media,” “Daulat,” “Desh Ka, Rasta Chuna,” “Us Paar,” and others. The book consists of such poems with a very average title which is very helpful for new readers. For, e.g., “Daulat,” “Sharab,” “Aisa Mat Karo,” which are very simple but hold a substantial ground.
Among the many other poems that the readers would like, “Shikayatein,” would be one for sure. “Shikayatein,” which means complaints, depicts the art of letting go. Despite having problems from the dearest thing, humans have a tendency to chose to turn a blind eye. No one wants to ruin the good memories they had with that person. Even though at times one does understand their worth, but still, they chose to remain silent. A poem is which quite relatable to the contemporary scenario is “Social Media.” Social media has been fulfilling everyone’s needs undoubtedly. But, it’s also creating some gaps among people. In this virtual world, few filters can pull down anyone’s confidence. Due to this, the focus on physical aspect of body is much more promoted and everyone is involved in the rat race of being “perfect.” This poem appears to resonate the real effects instead of the advantages. Among the attractive features of “Firaq,” the readers find an interesting amalgamation of words from both Hindi and Urdu. While Hindi gives the poems the touch of every person’s language, Urdu gives it a royal aura. There is a line in Urdu by the prominent poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, i.e., “Aur bhi gam he zamane me mohabbat ke siwa,” which means there are many tragedies in this world except love. “Firaq” becomes a proof of this line as it carries the aura of conveying a lot more than just being mere words based on only one emotion. This helps Rathi’s work appear as richer and more potent.
Poetry readers who are interested in reading content that would be thought-provoking and make them ponder over life the way it is happening can lay their hands on “Firaq” and see how author Sandeep Rathi pens down his emotions, feelings, and purposes in this poetry collection. Since the title is quite open ended and excites the curiosity of the readers in no time, the blurb does the rest of the work and the further part is taken care of by the collection that follows.
