Development of Indian English Poetry

If a single desires to know about the post-Independence Indian English poetry, recommend Iftikhar Husain Rizvi and Nasreen Fatima Rizvi, a single requirements to study poetry of such poets as "P.Lal, Krishna Srinivas, Nissim Ezekiel, Kamala Das, Keshav Malik, Pritish Nandy, Shiv K. Kumar, Jayanta Mahapatra, O.P. Bhatnagar, Maha Nand Sharma, Baldev Mirza, I.H.Rizvi, R.K.Singh, K.N. Daruwalla, Dwarkanath H. Kabadi, and Syed Ameeruddin." For a clearer image, I would love to add the names of a couple of much more poets to their list: I.K. Sharma, P. Raja, Gopal Honnalgere, Bibhu Padhi, Mani Rao, Anuradha Nalapet, Maria Netto, Mamang Dai, Angelee Deodhar, Kala Ramesh, K. Ramesh, PCK Prem, and R. Rabindranath Menon.

Not that Rizvi and Rizvi have not integrated these poets in their evaluation of the Indian English poetic scene. In reality, in a short span of about 240 pages, they have cautiously, neatly, and imaginatively written about the origin and poetical situation in the initial half of the 19th century, the second half of the 19th century, prior to Independence, i.e. from 1901 to 1947, immediately after independence, i.e. upto 1970 (male poets), and female poets (up to the existing day).

The authors' overview of the poetry scene, although with no severe criticism or overview, provides a bigger coverage to prove that Indian English poetry has a history of its personal and distinct identity and maturity to spread its fragrance far and wide. They mention hundreds of new names in their survey of the fast development of Indian English poetry throughout 1971-1985: Jayanta Mahapatra, Syed Ameeruddin, S.C. Saha, Proaba Bandopadhyay, K.V.S. Murty, O.P. Bhatnagar, I.K.Sharma, Niranjan Mohanty, Dwarakanath H. Kabadi, Vikram Seth, I.H.Rizvi, R.K.Singh, D.C. Chambial, Dilip Chitre, Baldev Mirza, Arun Kolatkar, Laxmi Narayan Mahapatra, Hemant Kulkarni, A.C. Sahay, PCK Prem, EV Ramakrishnan, Hazara Singh, Saleem Peeradina, Television Reddy, HS Bhatia, and scores of other people.

The overview of the poetical situation from 1986 to date mentions operates of Narendarpal Singh, A. Padmanabhan, Mohammed Fakhruddin, C.R. Mahapatra, Darshan Singh Maini, M.A. Nare, V.S. Skanda Prasad, P.K.Joy, P. Raja, Gopal Honnalgere, Maha Nand Sharma, Tabish Khair, Krishan Gopal, Hoshang Merchant, Shailendra Natayan Tripathy, Charu Sheel Singh, Y.N. Vaish, C.K. Shreedharan, Moin Qazi, M.K. Gopinathan, S.Samal, P.K.Majumder, Vihang Naik, R.V. Smith, S.L. Peeran, Prabhat K. Singh, R.S. Tiwary, A.N. Dwivedi, Kanwar Dinesh Singh, C.L.Khatri, and hundreds other individuals.

As clear, the authors have attempted to be extensive "in the sense that additional than nine hundred Indian English poets with about 1480 collections come across area in it." (Preface). They have pointed out all the established poets alongside new and ignored poets. Rizvi and Rizvi are fair, balanced and thorough in their presentation. They are clear in their thoughts that the existing Indian English poetry scene is "crowded" with poetasters, versifiers, struggling poets, correct poets, and good poets and that there is "a good will need of placing factors in the suitable order....1 has to sift gold from sands, but most of them, as far as doable, really should be created a mention of." (p.5).

The genre has survived over 175 years just about "devoid of a tradition and devoid of uniform supply of inventive power. Its accomplishment lies in surviving with no dogmas, without having sufficient serious assistance.... Its accomplishment lies, above all, in attempting to stand alone and by itself," to quote A.K.Srivastava.

Rizvi and Rizvi spend their tribute to the strengths of Indian poetry is English which is now internationally visible for encompassing "Indian circumstances, irony, mockery, satire against customs, rituals, politics, riches, modern issues, adore and sex, and human partnership" (p.5).

In truth, their book complements a handful of earlier publications by this reviewer, namely, Indian English Writing: 1981-1985: Experiments with Expression (1987), Current Indian English Poets: Expressions and Beliefs (1992), Anger in Action: Explorations of Anger in Indian Writing in English (1997), and the far more Current, Voices of the Existing: Severe Essays on Some Indian English Poets (2006).

There is substance in the authors' claim that Origin, Growth, and History of Indian English Poetry "is a 'really should' for all the universities, degree and postgraduate colleges as also for professors and teachers of English in universities, study scholars, poets, and lovers of poetry." It tends to make a refreshing reading and certainly gives a fuller image of Indian English poetic creativity "just after the end of colonialism", and specially just after 1970.

I.H. RIZVI and N.F.RIZVI. Origin, Growth and History of Indian English Poetry. Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 2008. Pages 244, Value: Rs. 220/-. ISBN: 978-81-7977-266-9.

--Dr.R.K.SINGH

--Professor(Dr) R.K.Singh, Head of the Dept of Humanities & Social Sciences, Indian Schopol of Mines University, Dhanbad 826004 (Jharkhand).