Haiku is the Soul of Poetry

A book with the above title has been lying on my desk for more than a year. I have opened it several times, but could not make much headway. It contains nearly 200 three-lined poems which have no titles. The poems are not in verse, and they can be recited in one short breath. The author, Ms Neena Singh is a renowned banker who rose very fast in HDFC to the highest level in the hierarchy. Her husband is an equally astute investment expert. In the prime of their careers, the couple decided to quit and since then they have been pursuing social issues. They enjoy a formidable reputation as intellectuals and social service supporters. And that is what impelled me to make repeated attempts to comprehend the form of poetry chosen by Neena Ji, known as Haiku. In this format, the author merely gives you a clue and invites the reader to create the poem. Indeed, these compositions are not meant to be sung or even recited in concerts. And yet, they leave an impact similar to reading ballads. Given below is a scanned image of the cover.

A General Introduction to Haiku, Senryu and Tanka. 

A haiku poem in the English language is often written in three short lines and read out aloud in about six seconds. It is written in the present tense, in ordinary language, and works particularly well when two different images are used to spark off each other. The word ‘haiku’ is derived from ‘hokku’ which means starting verse or the opening stanza.

Haiku don’t tell or even describe anything. They allow the reader to enter the poem in their own way. Subtly, the writer dares the reader to discover the truth beneath the whitewash.  They are ideal for non-fiction observations, or as a kind of short-hand for remembering events or incidents. They can be therapeutic since they exercise both the right and the left side of the brain. Traditionally haiku are rooted in natural history and the seasons, and make us co-conspirators with wildlife, as nature half-writes the haiku before we’ve even put pen to paper. Senryu are written in the same format, but the senryu compositions tend to be about human foibles while haiku is about nature. Senryu are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are solemn and earnest. Tankas are similar to both the above formats, but in they are five-lined. When I read a few of these poems, they began to grow on me.

I have been receiving a regular stream of the poet’s compositions in e-mail. More recently, she has begun to embellish the words with pictures. Given below are a few sample pieces out of the many that I have received. I have deliberately chosen to give no label or title to her opuses.

ONE

TWO

THREE 

FOUR

FIVE

(The picture given below is awaiting words from the author)

Suppose I was asked to write a Haiku.

I am not a poet and at the age of eighty-one, it is unlikely that I can make headway into this elite category of authors. However, ever since I started reading the above book, I have been toying with the idea of composing a Haiku. After a lot of effort, I cobbled up a few words, inspired by a well-known Urdu couplet. Given below is the result of my amateur effort.

I’m wizened,

but tell lies, if asked

“How’re you, uncle?”

Epilogue

Slowly but surely, I have begun to savour the Haiku format. The Japanese have a way of evoking or even provoking people into action. Their country was ravaged by the Second World War. Two cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were completely devastated. They have built them back, and in the process, they have also taught us how to manage automobiles as well as the electronic industries. More and more poets are using this ‘nano’ form of poetry. I carried out a bit of research on the shortest poems ever written in English. A two-word poem is attributed to the invincible heavy-weight boxer, Mohammed Ali runs as follows:

Me? Whee !!

(The word whee is used to express exhilaration or delight)

Indeed, the shortest inspirational message is contained in the following words:

*

Copy of the Introductory e-mail :

Dear Friend,

Men of few words have always been held in high esteem and people listen to them with rapt attention when they speak. The same is true of written text, especially poetry. Brevity is the soul of wit.

The Japanese have carried this truism to its ultimate limit while designing the ‘haiku’ format of poems. In this design, the poet is impelled to compose poems whose length does not exceed a dozen words. Indian poets have joined the ilk of haiku writers.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce Ms Neena Singh, whose book “One Breath Poetry” has been reviewed in a piece hosted on our website. The link is given below:

https://amolak.in/web/one-breath-poetry-by-neena-singh/

We seek your comments.

Surjit