Poets are not as straightforward as novelists. A novelist may speak his or her mind directly. A poet, however, has to choose the right subjects and images that might hint at the things the poet wants to convey. And therefore, respect for poets in the academic, as well as intellectual circles, is more than that of a novelist (in day to day life). Ramachandran Rajasekharan is a poet who has started to write poetry so late in his life that he is about to retire from his formal day job, very soon, within 1-2 years. However, even after a delayed start, the poet does not lack enthusiasm of any kind when it comes to producing poetry that can shudder the readers to the core and give them many things to think about and compel them to acknowledge certain things. Dewdrop and Banyan Tree is the debut poetry collection of Ramachandran Rajasekharan. In this article, I will be reviewing the same for BookWorm Reviews.

unsure of grammar
unaware of the techniques of poetry.
observing the world around in a new light,
now seeing new things; unseen so far;

These lines come from the final poem of the collection, Poetry and Me. And you can observe in these lines that the poet relishes his introduction to poetry, adventures into the world of the unknown and unseen. And the poetry collection, as a whole, exhibits the same enthusiasm of the poet. Ramachandran Rajasekharan is a newcomer to poetry and this shows from his alacrity in using the line breaks and words without necessary rhyming qualities. However, his poems are not entirely new. He approaches the world in a way that many poets have been doing for many years. He looks for inspiration in the world around him – nature, people, abstract ideas, memories from the past, contemporary events, and issues that keep ringing in the human mind.

The poet is not necessarily romantic in the strict connotation of the word accepted today. However, the poet has shown many moments of joyous acknowledgement of the presence of someone dear in one’s life. It goes to attain the best form in a poem titled Walking Together. The poem that the poet has written for his wife and himself, on their 33rd marriage anniversary, will resonate with many people in many ways.

an occasional quarrel in between
not carried beyond a yard
the joys and sorrows of life
bound us more

Philosophy, spirituality, various notions, ideas, abstract thoughts – these things dominate the poetry collection far more than anything else. And it is truly appreciable to witness. While many poets would like to please the readers with lightly-themed issues in their debut poetry collection, Ramachandran Rajasekharan has tried not only to please the readers but also to question their consciousness and awareness of things and issues surrounding us. The poet has also questioned unthought, speedy and almost reckless ideas of growth as we generally ignore others while moving ahead for our selfish goals. In a poem titled Blade of Grass, the poet mourns the deforestation drive (which, realistically, is a compulsion that we cannot do away with without a serious contemplation):

A blade of grass
singing and dancing with joy
living happily
in the cool shade of the big tree.
….
The song, now an elegy,
the blade serves its providence!

To conclude, I would submit that I did not expect the poetry collection to be as fantastic… as it is. Yes, a few more additions to the themes of the poem and a little more grip on the lyrical progress of the lines could have made a reader more pleased. Ramachandran Rajasekharan is a poet who is new to the world of writing but very old to the world that we live in. His experiences have reflected themselves heavily in the poem. And that makes him a new poet with a matured vision. Dewdrop and Banyan Tree is a must-read poetry collection for readers of poetry that goes beyond entertaining the readers. You will enjoy it. You will question it and yourself. You will surely talk about it once you finish reading. All the best!

Buy the poetry collection from Amazon India – click here

Review by Manish for BookWorm Reviews