https://www.calameo.com/books/003552831c2d397247922
My haiku and tanka in English and Arabic, CHANGING SEASONS: SELECTED TANKA AND HAIKU, edited with an Introduction by Mahmoud Al Rajabi is published by Haiku From All the World, October 31, 2021.
posted by Ram Krishna Singh at 10:00 AM
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Book Review: R. K. Singh
1. Crazy Class
Rajiv Khandelwal
Gurugram: The Poetry Society of India
9789391091149, $20.00, hc, 50 pp.
https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Class-Rajiv-Khandelwal-ebook/dp/B09CGDN7RQ
Adventure
Rajiv Khandelwal
Gurugram: The Poetry Society of India
9789391091132, $20.00, hc, 50 pp.
https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Rajiv-Khandelwal-ebook/dp/B09CHHBXXY
Magic Moments
Rajiv Khandelwal
Gurugram: The Poetry Society of India
9789391091194, $20.00, hc, 50 pp.
https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Moments-Rajiv-Khandelwal-ebook/dp/B09CGH1BVL
Let's Crawl
Rajiv Khandelwal
Gurugram: The Poetry Society of India
9788194920687, $30.00, hc, 84 pp.
https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Crawl-Rajiv-Khandelwal-ebook/dp/B09CGDMW97
The nicely packed and attractively designed gift book set contains three books of poetry for children and one book on
learning to write poetry. The set is imaginatively conceived and skillfully executed to promote verbal creativity among the
present generation of children who have a wide variety of cultural exposure via TV, beginning with the cartoon channels to
infotainment channels. Each book is also available separately.
Rajiv Khandelwal, an established Indian English poet, Electrical Engineer by education, and businessman by profession,
seeks to arouse among children of all ages an interest in poetry reading and writing. He especially composes 50 poems for
each of the three books and tries to make poetry accessible, as it appears to me, to post-primary and high school level
students in the Second Language contexts where the medium of teaching/learning is English.
He and his poet and academic readers who offered their feedback about the suitability of the poems or their selections to
him presume that the readers/learners have already acquired the basic knowledge of English language and grammar, are
interested in poetry, and can be motivated to learn to write it, too.
So, Rajiv Khandelwal presents an "exotic collection of poems" with diverse themes and verbal music, to quote Julia
Devardhi, who assisted him in making his choices. No doubt, most of the poems are good to read, engage the mind, and are
entertaining, but for my 7-year old reader, Jahnavi, certain words and expressions were not understandable: "pot of gold"
(Rainbow), "pneumonia" (Alarm), "legit" (Business), "fiscal", "referral", "corporate office", "ego" etc. Nevertheless, she said
that in the book Magic Moments, "poems such as A Wise Box, True Tale, Battle With Corona, My Favourite Season, and
Alarm are very good. I like them very much."
I would like to quote a couple of examples that bespeak the relevance and appeal of the poems Rajiv Khandelwal has
composed:
"Peter had a petrol pump/ But now a days there was a slump/ Due complete clampdown in town/ Citizens were in
lockdown/ For in air virus did not fade/ So, there existed no trade./ Could not even go to bank/ Money in house shrank and
shrank/ Till no money left, even for rice/ Now all paid, for not heeding advice." (Covid and its Price, Adventure, p. 28); and
"If I were God, I would instruct mom/ To make this food plan for her son Tom./ No, to green vegetables,/ Allowed daily
eatables/ Will be ice-cream for breakfast.// For lunch, pastry will be must/ Dinner will be doughnut/ Each day, get six
glassfuls of Pepsi/ I as God, declare such foods healthy" (If I Were God, Crazy Class, p. 1).
The poems are, no doubt, readable and successful. Yet, the poet should have possibly graded the 150 poems for different
levels of readership, and made his selections accordingly, instead of 'mixing' them in the four-volume set for 'universal' use,
from pre-primary to secondary level students/learners.
The fourth book, Let's Crawl, is aimed at teaching how to write a poem. It particularly seeks to develop the skill for writing
Acrostic poems, Syllabic poems, and using vocabulary. The book is good in that it develops 'word sense' via different
examples that are motivating and promoting one's feel for the English language, it's rhythm, rhyme, and other nuances. The
poems, prompts, and exercises in it are effectively designed to help, understand, and encourage young learners to produce
their own verses in English.
Additionally, Rajiv Khandelwal, as a poet, and now, as a producers of children's literature, makes a strong plea for using
poetry both as input and output in the language learning process, which is appreciable. His new books make a significant
contribution to children's literature and Indian poetry in English. Kudos to him for his fresh venture.
Professor R.K. Singh, Reviewer
rksinghpoet.blogspot.com
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/nov_21.htm#rksingh
Also published on Setu, Vol. 6, Issue 6, November 2021
https://www.setumag.com/2021/11/four-books-of-childrens-poetry-by-rajiv.html
posted by Ram Krishna Singh at 3:21 AM
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posted by Ram Krishna Singh at 1:41 AM
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posted by Ram Krishna Singh at 12:32 AM
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http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/oct_21.htm#rksingh
posted by Ram Krishna Singh at 10:47 PM
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Ram Krishna Singh is an Indian poet and academic, whose main fields of interest consist of Indian English writing, especially poetry, and English for Specific Purposes, especially for science and technology. Born on 31 December 1950 in Varanasi, India, he has authored more than 160 research articles,170 book reviews and 45 books. His works have been anthologized in over 150 publications. Dr Singh's poems have been widely translated and explored in several M.Phil. and Ph.D. theses. Till recently,Professor of English at IIT-ISM, Dhanbad,he is now happily retired and pursuing his literary interests.
