AADMI BANNE KE KRAM MEIN

These poems contain a full world, a complete family beyond the self: mother, father, wife, children, lemons, cucumbers, tea, biscuits, friends, strangers, a vibrant world, but a constant feeling of loneliness persists. Numerous situations arise where the narrator finds himself alonein some places, he expresses his loneliness through words, in others, through silence. Then a poetic question arises: when the external crowd, instead of residing outside, begins to reside within us, does loneliness become more felt? A man leaves home alone in the morning and returns home alone at night, yet the inner self of a lonely man is not desolate. If nothing else, he is filled with questions. This inquisitiveness, this restlessness, inspires Ankush Kumar to compose some poignant and beautiful poems. In the poem titled Mothers, the poet remembers his mothers friends in this very context. This is a good example of awakening memories of the other in the name of the self. We typically know little about our mothers friends in the families we live in. Ankush Kumars sensitivity fulfills the poetic responsibility of reaching there admirably. Narrative is a crucial tool for fulfilling poetic responsibilities; Ankush Kumars poems abound with it. He reads a scene as a story, then narrates it as a poem. This makes his poems natural and communicative. He establishes a grounded connection with the world around him. In this process, he also keeps an eye on his time and society. This feeling is concentrated in poignant poems like In the Night and Letters to the Wrong Address. He views his present and reality with deep skepticism. Nevertheless, these are not poems written by a curious political analyst, but poems that record the speech of an ordinary person connected to home, family, streets, and society. -Geet Chaturvedi