Ashok Ogra
BhupendraTiku’s collection of seven short stories and poems
‘THE SEVENTH CHORD’ shows the author’s power with pen and his versatility. Both the stories and the poems are reflective of creativity in its simplest, unadulterated form. Nothing is left unexpressed or unsaid.
In the short stories, the author builds up suspense through characters that come across as authentic and real. His characters demand our understanding and not sympathy. The author exercises restraint when dramatizing and yet it makes for compelling reading.
In his brief note, the author describes ‘THE SEVENTH CHORD’ as a collection of diverse musical notes. The thematic eclecticism of the stories and poems has been derived from the subtle sounds of deep sensibilities. The rhythm thus created is like a ripple in still water.
The story ‘And Krishna Smiled’ is about Robert on a holiday in Kashmir, accidentally discovering the roots of his Kashmiri mother, Anu, in a guest house overlooking Dal Lake. Anu had married an American, Michael. Unfortunately, she died at the time Robert was born. Michael remarried and there was no contact with Anu’s family. Robert had no inkling that the guest house where he had checked in was owned by his maternal grandmother.
The author brilliantly describes the scene- filling it with emotions when Robert encounters the photograph of his mother: ”Robert opened the door and walked into the room. It was bigger and spacious with huge windows on either side. Everything was arranged immaculately in the closet. As he placed his suit on the couch, his gaze fell on a photograph hanging over the fireplace on the wall. In the dim light he could see a young woman in the photograph. He put on the lights and saw the face clearly…. Astonished and wide-eyed. The same eyes, same smile, same dress, same flowers in the background… It looked unbelievable. It was the photograph of his mother whom he had never seen.”
The story ends with hope: Marie (Robert’s wife) delivering a baby boy whom the grandmother names Krishna, and they decide to spend the rest of their life in Kashmir – opening an Ashram devoted to serving the underprivileged.
In the story the author excels in weaving a narrative of suppressed memories. The narration is both descriptive and emotive.
Nostalgia and longing define the story ‘Roots and Wings’- in which a grandfather, Dwarka Nath, opts to stay back in Kashmir while the rest of his family, including his son moved out during the onset of militancy in 1990. While fleeing the valley, the family had left behind a bicycle- a gift brought for the grandson. Dwarka Nath was keen to send the bicycle through the post office: ”The post office van started to move slowly as he inhaled deeply from his cigarette- satisfied. Suddenly, there was an explosion-a grenade had burst a few meters behind the moving van. … Dwarka Nath fading slowly as his life was snuffed out of him.”
Poignancy is the seed of this story. And the melancholy that consumes Dwarka Nath is a festering sore afflicting almost all Kashmiri Pandits who had to flee the valley in 1990.
‘A Sublime Love Story’ is about a husband’s indifference to his working wife of over 20 years, a romance that blooms between the estranged wife and her office colleague. It is a story of innocent incomplete love told with great finesse: “To be shrouded after a glimpse is being merciless/To incinerate the budding desires is being merciless/ Adorned with musk of aspirations Garden of love, waits/ As such Your ruthless response is being merciless.”
Kamal Hak, in his brilliant foreword to the book, truly captures Bhupendra’s writing style: ‘He doesn’t make his stories contrived with unnecessary details. His precision with words, acquired, perhaps because of his advertising training, is easily visible across all stories… The credit must also go to the author for his crispness with words. You can’t miss the poet in virtually all the stories.’
The author displays a penchant for using poetic language in the story ‘The Radcliff Reverberations’: “The setting sun caused lengthened shadow on the cliffs on the plateau top. Standing on the edge, Varun looked at Anjana who was clicking pictures. Feeling enamored by her majestic presence, erect posture, long tresses unruly and disheveled by the strong breeze, Varun suddenly extended his arms and shouted loudly into the valley. Anjana came running into his arms letting the camera hang carelessly around her shoulder. As his words echoed back, ‘Anjana, my only love!’Both stood in the perennial embrace.”
In this story Bhupendra moves skillfully and seamlessly between dates and places.
Srinagar of his growing up finds echo in the story ‘Reflections.’ Whether it is buying fish, or describing Rainawari or downtown Srinagar – the deft description, compelling emotions and insightful observations… will appeal to readers. Like a caricaturist, he can evoke a full person or situation with just a few strokes of the pen.
All the seven poems are filled with different emotions, evoking imagery and expression of love in all its forms: “The crescent moon waning/ Looks full n low/ As the first rays of Sun/ Brighten to make it glow/Isn’t this image of infinity that depicts my love for you/As the amalgam of serenity And the emotions which flow/ Once the half crescent turns into the full moon bright / We will bathe to mate/ As the moon and the sunlight.”
The book also contains a moving and poignant poem ‘The Ache’, originally written in Kashmiri by Chandigarh- based Seema Bhat and translated into English by Bhupendra. The poem ignites memories when we think of our lost homes. A home that our feet may leave but not our hearts:
“Walls broken/ Fences yielding/ Hazy front yard/Yet, the imprints of past/ Clear and visible…Smoky windows/ Shattered balconies / Dilapidated roof Overgrown wild grass/ Hearth remains there/ With its ladle intact/ And the tiny furnace with/ Unburnt embers/ Waiting hopefully/To be Rekindled… Ruins are not these/Of the four walls/ Fragments are these/of my childhood yearning/ And exuberant youth…”
The voice in the poem is authentic. The language and imagery speak volumes of Seema’s mastery of the poetic medium.Certainly, Kashmir was once a place exuding warmth, brotherhood, calm and peace. Whether it is near or far, it will always remain close to our hearts.
Published by Yuganugoonj Media (OPC), Gurgaon, the short stories and poems contained in the book are deeply engaging, of extraordinary range and depth. The author’s special gift lies in seeing relationships between things and feelings and thoughts that others cannot see and in giving these relationships a unity/form. Enlivening the dreamy visions, Bhupendra’s prose remains poetic without forgoing narrative drive.
(The author works as Advisor (MC) in reputed Apeejay Education Society)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
