Love teaches even asses to dance.
P.Raja. Love teaches even asses to dance. Publishers: Busy Bee Books, D-88, Poincare St., Olandai-Keerapalayam, Pondicherry – 605004, Oct 2006, 210 pages, Price: Rs.250/- Euro 15/-. ISBN 81-87619-12-0
Love Teaches Even Asses to Dance is a collection of fifty-two essays by P. Raja, a poet-critic, whose command of words, or of sound and meaning, convinces me that, like poetry, prose it also needs to be written (and read). carefully and considerably considered for continued rewards in experience and understanding. The essays are readable and memorable because the writer, like Walter Benjamin, knows that “good prose work has three steps: a musical setting when it is composed, an architectural one when it is built, and a textile one when it is woven. “
P. Raja evidences these characteristics in his short, simple, unaffected pieces that have poetic bliss and intellectual intensity. Whether he communicates information or talks about the ordinary affairs of life, he seeks to build meaning and perception of life, broadening and sharpening our contacts with existence. Whatever your concern in a literary, academic, social, cultural, anecdotal, historical, personal, or spiritual context, P. Raja writes with expertise. He is motivated by the inner need to live more deeply and fully, and with greater awareness to know the experience of others and to improve his own experience. He shares his observations and evaluations with readers and thereby creates new, well-formed and focused experiences for them, imparting a better understanding of our world. For example:
“The notion that ‘poets are born’ is dead and gone. Inspiration, creativity and talent have become misnomers when it comes to poetry. The saying now is ‘poets are made’. Yes. Poets are made, not by intensive study of the masters of that art, but by the almighty Lord MONEY.”
(‘If you have the money they will make you a poet’)
“It is said that wise men read books but only fools buy them. Beware! There are many wise men around.”
(‘Book Thieves’)
“I’ll show you fear in a handful of dust,” wrote TS Eliot. But what the Christian poet could show in a handful, the Hindus could do with just a pinch of ash. All one has to do is go to a temple and stretch out the palm of one’s hand before the poojari.”
(‘Fear freezes the heart of life’)
“While conditions for women are changing around the world, nothing dramatic has happened to Indian women. Blame it on our culture.”
(‘Women’s Liberation and the Indian Psyche’)
“I have seen my father yell at my mother every time he found a long hair that did not belong to her in her food. It took my mother days to calm down. I also yelled at my wife for the same reason and politely returned when the hair was small. It matters little what we say to others, while what really matters is how we say it. This applies to all those who care about human relations and want to establish a pleasant form of relationship with others” .
(‘Little things matter’)
Female mosquitoes are true vampires. No one can escape her little needle filled with rage like a sucker. Many of these winged vampires die when we are awake. And when we are asleep they give us slow poison. Without our knowledge we exchange a few cubic centimeters of our precious blood for the wide variety of diseases that they herald. And that happens almost every night. The only consolation scientists offer (let’s have faith in them) is that mosquitoes don’t have AIDS for sale. Praised by Allah, Jesus and the Hindu Trinity.”
(‘Mosquitoes are ungrateful creatures’)
As is obvious from these random examples, P. Raja uses his literary skills (sarcasm, irony, wit, humor) as a gear to heighten the intensity and increase the range of everyday experience, analyzing, synthesizing and clarifying it. His success lies in making us part of his personal experiences and points of view rooted in humanity.
Q. Raja appeals to me as one of the few excellent essayists in India today. It is unpretentious, direct, neat and convincing, whatever the theme chosen for reflection: man, woman, mother, god, animal, trees, nature, history, religion, mind, anger, desire, fear, smile, sincerity, patience, love, women’s liberation, kolam, folklores, epitaphs, book reading, storytelling, or use of English in the public domain, etc. He writes with feeling, commitment and maturity, without wasting words or becoming vulgar, hackneyed, pedantic, periphrastic or pleonastic.
Reading P. Raja’s personal and earnest essays, with hints of the Bible, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Panchatantra, Thirukural, Indian and European history, and literary tomes is an enlightening experience. One meets with ingenuity and wisdom intended to promote human values and moral behavior based on dharma.
With its quality paper, impeccable printing, attractive appearance and moderate price, Love Teaches Even Asses to Dance rivals the best of any multinational printing company in India or abroad. Readers will find the book attractive for its balanced content. P. Raja deserves congratulations for his excellence in a genre where very few recent English Indian writers have made their presence known.
-Professor RK SINGH