Tamali Neogi : Selected poems

Tamali Neogi’s Poems

Oh Male God…

She was an unique individual born out of fire,
They have touched her by their unholy hands.
Her saree in their hands as moisture in air, raises heat, fuelling war
Oh male God, how kind you were to save her honour !
Misled sons of the blind mother were confident like you,
Fools, defiled a body, not a woman, essentially living in her soul.
Vengeance in her eyes, the royal Queen, shocked at the maltreated raped women, all around
Pleads her Sakha to cast a magic spell so that
All those are raped give birth to only male children
Oh ethereal beauty! hid yourself somehow in the procession of our marginal women.
Walking silently are naked bodies, beautiful baby bumps; naturally empowered to forgive
our women avenge themselves. Who can do justice to the polluted air, breathed in to live?

*Sakha refers to Lord Krishna who protects Draupadi’s(the wife of Pandavas) honour during the attempted disrobing. This is an allusion to Mahabharata.

 

Need to Know Thyself

As poetry is to poet, so is my inner self that writes
To the outer ones you see. Why do I love myself? Kalidasa asked himself one day.
What shall I say? Easy to feign ignorance, instantly replies the social self.
Dissatisfied poet probes deeply. Turbulent waters of Mandakini understands the inner conflict.
Eyes deep, mind reflecting, intelligence sharp or is it powerful imagination that sets the tune of the harp?
Another one raises head. The best thing in you are your innocence and purity; the swan looking upward to Saraswati.
About to confirm, when the lover in him protests softly.
“Forget my typhoonic passion ?”
Ramgiri to Alkapuri, spearheading Monsoon cloud gathers moisture, waiting a little, up above the rivers.
Darkened sky directs his attention to the undercurrent of the dark ocean; the sailor discovers how little he knows them, their motion.
Clad in golden white, the Devi guides,
“Need to know thyself,
wrong or right itself”

*Kalidasa is a Classical Sanskrit poet, famous for two epical poems. Ramgiri and Alkapuri allude to his poem Meghaduta.

 

Dignity

Need nothing but revenge. The Ghost rebels

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern infuriate me. Old king loves the Queen innocently!!!

One esoteric instruction and the line written automatically

Fools commit suicide, wise die. Silence. Here comes Tom

The King knoweth her well as days nights/Lover’s death is his dole who suffers deceits

Love Macbeth the most who flies not

Dignity in deaths, the bard laughs.

How many Kings are there? Go to the Front Gate of Macbeth’s castle…

Sadness

Beautiful to look at the sadness of your eyes
The poet muses, quietly flows the Ganges
That night Somdev comes in his dream
Hundred thousand corpses hanging from the branches, banyan trees million
Where is he, carrying one on his shoulder
Dark silhouettes of Vikrams against the fading light
Baffled, unquestioning, surrendering
Drunk on Taro leaves
One by one are they coming, the chosen goats
Body parts will keep on moving, heads segregated in single blows
Durga Puja celebration tinged with fresh blood
The poet howls, proposition changes. Quietly flows the Ganges
Beautiful are those eyes gleaming light of love
Christ on cross, once he forgives all

Footnotes:

Somdev- Somdev Bhatt is 11th century Kashmiri poet, writer of “Beetal Pachisi”

Vikram- The legendary King Vikram, identified as Vikramaditya,(the founder of ‘Vikrama Samvat’ era in 57 BCE) referred to in Somdev’s “Beetal Pachisi”

 

 

About the Author
Dr. Tamali Neogi teaches English at Gushkara College, Gushkara (West Bengal), India. As a creative writer she has published The Woman of Patashpur and edited Postmodern Voices, Volume VIII: An Anthology of Poems. Currently she is engaged in editing a book on Life Writings of Women belonging to different continents. In an academic career spanning two decades, Dr. Neogi has published short stories in Tales of Our Times and Lapis Lazuli, presented research papers at National and International Seminars, presided over Paper Reading Sessions, and also published book reviews in reputed U.G.C. Care Listed Journals. Her second Anthology of short fiction will hit the stands by the end of this year.
tamalineogi13@gmail.com