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Haiku
and R. K. Singh: A Critical Analysis of his Peddling Dream
--K.V. DOMINIC
Haiku
originally was a Japanese form of poetry consisting of seventeen moras or on, in three
metrical phrases of five, seven and five moras respectively. Haiku contain a kigo, or seasonal
reference, and a kireji
or verbal caesura,
i.e., pause or break after each metrical phrase. In Japanese, haiku are printed
in a single vertical line, while in English usually they appear in three lines.
The famous verses of Japanese masters like Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and
Kobayashi Issa in the Edo-period (1600-1868) are properly referred to as hokku.
Hokku was given the name Haiku by the Japanese writer Masaoka
Shiki at the end of the 19th century.
There is no fixed format or subject
matter for English haiku. The common features that are found in English haiku
are the following:
Use
of three (or fewer) lines of seventeen or fewer syllables
Use
of lines as breath groups with number of syllables 5-7-5 or lesser in number
Use
of a season word or kigo
Use
of verbal caesura
to bring out contrast or comparison
Use
of caesura at the end of either the first or second line, but seldom at both
The
three lines never make a complete or run-on sentence
Always
written in the present tense of here and now
Limited
use (or non-use) of personal pronouns
Use
of common sentence syntax in both phrases
Use
of sentence fragments
Writing
about ordinary things in an ordinary way using ordinary language
Use
of concrete images
Use
no punctuation or normal sentence punctuation
While
traditional Japanese haiku concentrate on Nature and humans
in it, some modern haiku poets, in Japan, India and the West, take a broader
range of subject matter suitable, including urban
contexts. While traditional haiku avoided themes of sex and overt violence, contemporary haiku sometimes deal
with them. In the words of Jane Reichhold:
The
fact that the smallest literary form—haiku–has the most rules never ceases to
amaze and astound. The only real comfort one can find in this situation is the
concept that this affords a wider range of rules from which a writer can pick
and choose. You cannot follow all of the rules and several of them are so
contradictory that there is no way to honor them both at once. You must always
choose. In order to make a choice, you have to understand the reasons and
methods. (“Haiku: How to Haiku”)
Prof.
R. K. Singh was born, brought up and educated in Varanasi, India. He is a
University Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Indian School of Mines University, Dhanbad, India. He has authored more than
150 articles, 165 book reviews and 34 books, including twelve collections of
poems. Jointly with U S Bahri, Catherine Maire and Patricia Prime, Singh
has published two more anthologies. He has been critically studied by several
critics through articles and anthologies. His poems have been translated into
French, Spanish, Romanian, Chinese, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Japanese,
Bulgarian, German, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Esperanto, Kannada, Tamil, and
Bangla. Prof. R. K. Singh has received innumerable awards and honours,
including honorary Litt. D. from the World Academy of Arts and Culture, Taiwan,
in 1984, Michael Madhusudan Award, Calcutta, in 1994 and Peace Museum Award
from Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, in 1999.
As
a great poet, critic and editor, the immense contribution R. K. Singh has given
to Indian English Literature and through it to World Literature is
praiseworthy. Without any set norm or pattern, not concentrating particularly
on any theme, without even naming the poems, but only numbering them, he goes
on writing on all aspects of human life, on Nature and Universe, on abstract
and concrete. As D. G. Rossetti and his Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood have written
vividly on the beauty of human body, R. K. Singh also praises the Creator,
extolling the beauty of human body in many of his poems. Prof. Singh writes
about it thus: ““don’t condemn me if I
am not white” . . . “I love Him through the bodies He made” (qtd.
in Sharma). I. K Sharma in his Foreword to R. K. Singh’s book Sexless
Solitude and Other Poems compliments the poet aptly thus:
Well-read
in the important literary classics of
India, well-trained in the use of English
language, well-versed in modern western
thoughts, Dr. Singh articulates his perceptions,
his experiences, in a very unconventional
way. Not at all shy of using
words associated with sex , he puts
them to different uses in his
poems. It makes purists of
literature believe that the poet is
a shameless hawker of sex in the
street of literature. His poems, they
think, have soiled the white house (not
the White House) of literature. Such persons in
fact suffer from agoraphobia. (i)
Some
poetasters and orthodox critics attacked Rossetti and his group calling them
Fleshly School of Poets. Similarly we find such wrong-headed critics even in
this twenty-first century attacking R. K. Singh as a hawker of sex. In the
ocean of the poems Prof. Singh has written, one can not accuse him of any
obsession with sex, rather he touches that aspect also because sex is divine,
sexual feelings are divine and sexual organs are divine.
I
agree to the opinion of Dr Lyle Glazier of Bennington, Vermont, USA: “R. K.
Singh writes with the directness of an overheard whisper, or a wind through
trees, a ripple in a stream, or a cry in the street after dark” (qtd. in
Krishna Srinivas). What Krishna Srinivas has written of genuine poets is cent
percent true of R. K. Singh. In the words of Srinivas, “To the poet, the world
is an extension of himself—his flesh, his blood, his bones. Poetical modernity
is expressing its freedom of form, of structure, of imagery and idea”
(“Foreword” i).
R.
K. Singh is a poet specialised in economy of expression and brevity. Every
Stone Drop Pebble (1999), Peddling Dreams (2003) and The River
Returns (2006) are his collections of haiku. Every Stone Drop Pebble
contains fifty seven haiku, Peddling Dreams has one hundred and ninety
one haiku, and The River Returns bears two hundred and ninety five
haiku. In addition to that there are one hundred and twenty nine haiku titled
under Some More Haiku. There are also fifteen haiku sequences with the
title Some Haiku Sequences. About R. K. Singh’s haiku, Abdul Rashid
Bijapure writes:
Perhaps
it is the single-minded journey of R. K. Singh to press for brevity in
expression that leads him to devote his poetic energy to the three line Haiku
poems. Even Singh says “a Haiku is terse, dynamic and complete poetry,
rendering the vital energy, which animates not only an individual’s small world
but also the entire cosmos.” For Singh it is rather a self-disciplining
spiritual exercise marked by living momentness of a moment, imaging a moment.
(qtd. in Rajni Singh 3)
As
I have pointed out above, there is no set syllabic pattern in the contemporary
English haiku. Instead of the traditional 5-7-5 pattern, contemporary poets do
not follow any pattern at all. R. K. Singh speaks on his haiku pattern thus:
Now
I do not adhere to the 5-7-5 syllables, nor do I make any difference between
haiku and senryu. I just practise haiku in different beats (3-5-3; 4-6-4;
5-7-5) or free-form haiku, and when possible, expand its lyrical content to a
tanka in five lines without restricting myself to 5-7-5-7-7 rhythm.
As
readers will bear me out, it is possible to convey so much within the 3- or
5-line span of the short-long-short or short-long-short-long-long flow of the
haiku or tanka rhythm. It is also possible to elevate the quotidian experiences
to the level of poetry, using the medium of haiku and tanka, provided one seeks
to be visual or sensuous, or expresses natural concrete action or object, or
experiences from ones whole being, and does not ‘fake’ poetic feelings or
render fictitious or imaginative experiences. (Prefatory Note 1).
Peddling
Dream was originally published in Pacem
in Terris, a trilogy collection, in 2003. It was republished in Collected
Poems 1974 – 2009, by Book Enclave, Jaipur. Of the one hundred and ninety
one haiku in Peddling Dream, none could be written off as silly or
ordinary. Majority of haiku are on Nature, the magic of different seasons, how
man goes hand in hand with Nature and reflections and echoes of Nature on man.
The opening word of each of his haiku starts with a capital letter and there is
often a caesura after the second line. Let me analyse a few poems in the
following pages:
A
star shines bright
beside
the crescent moon:
she
fakes a smile
How
suggestive are the lines! The very shape of the moon—crescent–reminds the
reader of a smiling face. The moon is not happy at all at the presence of the
bright star beside her because the star is more beautiful and brilliant than
the moon. Hence the fake smile. No doubt the celestial moon is gentler than
millions of moons on earth who turn their faces out of jealousy when such
earthly stars appear before them. The punctuation mark of colon at the end of
the second line is a connector of the first two lines to the third, with an
additional function of explaining the third line. In the haiku
Shaking
hands
couldn’t
part with the henna
on
her palms
the
poet speaks about the eternal relationships that can not be parted with mere
shake hands. Out of warmth of the shaking palms the henna got stained to the
lover’s palm. Naturally, like the henna, their love also will stick onto their
hearts forever. The abstract idea of love and friendship is concretized well in
this haiku.
Reluctant
to climb
the
spiral staircase–
bathing
in kitchen
Though
seemingly funny, this haiku laughs at our lazy nature. Not willing to take
pains, people are prone to lead low and average lives, just eating, sleeping
and procreating. In the following haiku loneliness is measured to the sipping
of coffee. The punctuation mark of dash at the end of the second line acts as a
semantic marker of cause and effect: the third line is the effect of the first
and second lines.
Measures
loneliness
sip
by sip
at
dining table
Loneliness
is something intolerable and hence the poet compares it to the sipping of a
very hot coffee, eager to finish it soon and then leave the hall. The abstract
idea of loneliness is visualized elegantly by the poet in this haiku.
Thick
dust on leaves
unwashed
by rains for days–
stagnant
time
This
haiku speak about the stark reality of drought which many parts of India face
now. The drought, the poet believes, is man-made. Even though there has been
continuous rain for several days, the dust on the leaves could not be washed
out as the dust formation was very thick. The time is stagnant because there is
no change in the nature. It is still hot summer, in spite of the rains. The
rain can not make any impact on nature. ‘Thick dust on leaves’ is a kigo phrase
connoting the concrete image of the summer season. The punctuation mark of dash
at the end of the second line is a very powerful semantic marker as it
indicates that the first and second lines are the explanation of the third
line.
Chilly
night
no
soul on the road
guard
at gate
R.
K. Singh seems to be very considerate and humane as is expressed in the above
haiku. It is winter season; and night also. No human being is found outside the
buildings, except the guard at gate. If people can not go outside why should
there be a guard at the gate? To guard against whom? Animals? The disregard and
cruelty shown by the middle class and upper class to the working class is
portrayed in this haiku. ‘Chilly night,’ ‘no soul on the road’ are kigo phrases
standing for concrete images of winter season.
Welcoming
the sun
dew
drops on dry leaves–
an
epitaph
In
the above haiku, the dew drops are longing for the appearance of the sun. They
have been remaining as epitaph of the dry leaves throughout night, as lonely as
in a cemetery. Hence they welcome the sun. The punctuation mark of dash at the
end of the second line reveals that the first two lines are explanatory of the
third line.
A
tiny spider
on
the marigold sucking
its
golden hue
Unlike
the conventional beautiful creatures in nature, a spider is portrayed by the
poet, extolling the beauty of sucking golden hue from a marigold. R. K. Singh,
like all great poets, believes that there is nothing ugly in this universe
because God has created them. ‘A tiny spider,’ ‘marigold’ and ‘golden hue’ are
kigo phrases standing for concrete images of the spring season.
A
load of wood
on
her frail back
autumn
evening
Here
is a picture of a weak woman carrying a heavy load of wood on her frail back.
This also is a regular sight in the villages of India. Winter is approaching
and hence firewood has to be collected and stored for the season in autumn
itself. The patriarchy has condemned women to do all the household works and even
if they are sick and weak they are destined to do all such activities. It is
their duty to look after the family. The poet seems to attack this evil trend.
‘A load of wood on her frail back’ is a concrete image of the autumn season, a
usual sight at country sides.
On
a cycle
he
sells bouquets and roses
peddling
dreams
In
the above haiku a flower vendor is portrayed selling bouquets and roses on his
cycle. The caesura after the second line brings out the contrast of ideas. Even
though he is selling tokens of dreams and love, in his own life he has only
unfulfilled dreams, and while he is selling such realities he is destined to
have only fantasies, and that is what he does while peddling. The poet’s
humaneness and commitment to the society is reflected in these lines. The
plight and futile dreams of the poor people are visualized in this beautiful
haiku.
The
mirror is so small
I
can’t see the ocean
beyond
my own look
The
above haiku proclaims that what we see, learn and understand is little. There
is a vast ocean beyond, which is hidden to us. Our own ego hinders us from
seeking the ocean of truth. We look at own reflection and feel content. A great
abstract idea is concretized deftly in this haiku.
Silent
Ram sheds
tears
over the bodies burnt
in
temple’s name
The
statue of Ram, mute and helpless, sheds tears over the blood spilled and bodies
burnt in His own name. As most of the terrorism is done in the name of God, and
religious mafia dictates the world as such, this haiku is very relevant to the
present century. An attack on the terrorists is found in the next haiku:
Violence
breeders
climb
power ladder–
peace
stings
The
terrorists, using power—military as well as religious and political—climb up
the ladder to dictate the world and annihilate Peace; but Peace stings them
like gnats. The caesura at the end of the second line followed by the dash
brings out the antithesis of violence and peace. The terrorists are bound to
climb down, and the poet believes that it is being happening in this world. The
ultimate victory is that of Peace. Two abstract terms of “violence” and “peace”
are beautifully concretized in this haiku.
Tears
invisible
on
his water face
Buddha
meditates
Here
the statue of the Buddha is crying invisible to men. The caesura at the end of
the second line gives an explanation of the final line. Due to rain, the
Buddha’s face is wet and hence none can identify the tears running through his
cheeks. The Buddha can’t but shed tears when he meditates on what is happening
in this bloody world. The prophet of Ahimsa sees only blood and dead
bodies—both human and non-human—around him. He shuts his eyes and cries over
it.
Through
long shadows
in
the morning remembering
gradual
death
The
poet appears to be highly philosophical in the above haiku. He has been
watching his own shadow throughout the morning. As morning grows on to noon,
his shadow wanes, and it reminds him of the gradual advent of Death. Through
the concrete image of shadows the poet explains the abstract idea of the advent
of death in this haiku.
She
snuggles up
in
my arms her dimples
joy
of heaven
The
above haiku portrays a love scene. The protagonist finds joy of heaven in the
dimples of the lady love when she is cuddled up in his arms. As God is love,
and sex is love, the sexual emotion and satisfaction bring heaven on earth.
A
moving train–
confined
in water bottle
rhythmic
ripplets
Here
is a characteristic image of train journey in India. In summer, when the non-AC
bogies of trains are just like furnaces, passengers are destined to drink
bottles after bottles of water. The poet synthesizes the rhythm of the train
with the rhythm of ripplets while drinking from the bottle. The scorching heat
of summer is concretized in this haiku.
Two
toads croaking
in
the drain celebrate
sudden
shower
How
Nature celebrates the seasons is portrayed in the above haiku. The Creator’s
bounties are welcomed and greeted more merrily by non-human beings. The
materialistic man fails to notice such beauties around him. ‘Toads,’
‘croaking,’ ‘shower’ are kigos of rainy season.
Basking
in the past
they
grow backward and yet talk
about
the future
The
poet reminds us about the futility of basking in the past. We will only grow
backward if we are obsessed with the past achievements and glories. We have to
look forward and plan our future. Mere talking about the future plans is not
sufficient.
Lingering
in bed:
to
go to church or pub–
Sunday
morning
It
is Sunday morning. The poet is still lingering in bed with the dilemma: go to
church for Sunday Mass or celebrate in a pub. He doesn’t find much difference
between the options. Rather he may choose the latter as it gives him much
enjoyment. The poet seems to criticize the religious rituals and ceremonies
devoid of real faith. It is useless to spend time in a church if one has no
faith in such practices. The dash at the end of the second line is a semantic
symbol, acting as an explanation of the third line.
Moving
shadows
in
the silence of the room–
windows
rattle
An
abstract thing is concretized in the above haiku. The huge shadows which got
into the silent room through the narrow bars of the window rattle the bars. R.
K. Singh’s high imagination is visible here. The beauty it imparts is superb.
The caesura and the dash at the end of the second line act as cause and effect
of the lines before and after them.
Facing
the sun
the
lone flower
dying
to bloom
Here
is the pathetic sight of a lone flower longing to bloom, but destined to die.
All the other flowers have died and fallen. The intolerable heat of the sun and
the absence of water cause the flower to wither and die. ‘Sun,’ ‘flower,’
‘bloom’ are kigos of spring and summer.
They
take off again
their
unthrown nets frighten fish–
water
turns whiter
Fishing
is satisfying and pleasurable to the fishermen. But how it is frightening and
shocking to fish and sea is portrayed in the above haiku. It is very mysterious
why man is so cruel and unsympathetic to one of the meekest and most beautiful
creatures—fish. He is sometimes sympathetic to his domestic animals but never
to fish. Even the nature lovers have no love left to fish. The sea turns whiter
and pale when the nets touch the surface. The sea is shocked at the atrocity of
the fishermen. The dash at the end of the second line acts as a semantic marker
of cause and effect.
Only
two of us–
and
a big house with roaming
rats
and cockroaches
The
poet here attacks the wealthy peoples’ craze of building mansions where only an
old man and his wife live. Their children are employed abroad or in any remote
cites. The house has become a status symbol to the Indians where they spend
millions to compete with their neighbours. The palatial rooms where humans
seldom tread have become haunting places for rats, cockroaches and spiders. The
dash at the end of the first line expresses the effect of the idea of first
line on the following lines. The concrete image in the haiku portrays the
tragic fate of today’s nuclear family.
Chess
of love:
checkmate
before
playing
the game
In
this excellent haiku, the poet compares love to a game of chess. Since the path
of love is crooked and full of obstacles and hindrances, every step or movement
meets with a checkmate. He who conquers checkmate comes out victorious in love.
The colon at the end of the first line acts as definition or explanation of the
first line as expressed in the following lines. Through the concrete image of
the game of chess the poet has explained an abstract idea.
The
holy Ganges
tolerates
the city’s garbage
even
rape and death
The
pathetic situation of our rivers, especially holy rivers is portrayed in this
haiku. It seems that the majority of the Indians believe that God has created
rivers to dispose their garbage. Fully aware that it is the same water that
they have to drink, they throw away their waste to the rivers. The holy river
Ganges is destined to carry hundreds of dead bodies every day. The poor river
has also to bear the screams of several rapes done on her lap. Even in the
twenty first century, Indians are not a bit saved from the superstitions.
Taking the Ganges as holy, they dispose the dead bodies in it so that the souls
of the bodies will get Moksha. Religious leaders or religious mafia are to be
blamed for cultivating such superstitions in the minds of the illiterate laymen
and thus exploiting them through unnecessary rituals and ceremonies.
Cloud
over cloud
darken
earth and hide stars:
dawn
and dusk one
Here
is another tragic and appalling sight caused by indiscriminate
industrialization. The cities are always overcast by the poisonous fumes of
factories and vehicles. The sun, the moon and the stars are seldom visible.
There is no difference between dawn and dusk. Rather it is always monotonous
dusk. The poet, a social critic, invites our attention to this dangerous
situation. The colon at the end of the second line is a semantic marker
expressing cause and effect. Through concrete images the poet has pictured the
horrible face of modern cities.
Like
a magician with a magical wand, Prof. R. K. Singh has wielded these short lines
of triplets with an enchanting effect. The readers are tempted to run their
eyes over them again and again. It is the grand images which make his haiku
splendid rather than the rhythm and music of words. Though alliteration and
assonance are rare, the readers are bewitched by the grandeur of high
imagination. Beyond any doubt, R. K. Singh has an immortal place of his own
among the haiku masters of the world.
Works
Cited
Reichhold,
Jane. “Haiku: How to Haiku.” Web. 10 Feb. 2010.
Sharma,
I. K. Foreword. Sexless Solitude and Other Poems. By R. K. Singh.
Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 2009. Print.
Singh,
R. K. Collected Poems 1974 – 2009. Jaipur: Book Enclave, 2009. Print.
(haiku quoted in this paper are from this anthology)
—.
Prefatory Note. The River Returns: A Collection of Tanka and Haiku. By
R. K. Singh. Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 2006. Print.
Srinivas,
Krishna. Foreword. My Silence. By R. K. Singh. Madras: Poets Press
India, 1985. Print.
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