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Favourite poems of famous Indians
Compiled and edited by Avanti Maluste and Sudeep Doshi
Published by Viking: Penguin Group
Foreword by Amartya Sen
I borrowed this book from a friend. A perfect book for dipping into. A perfect book for a rainy day. Thanks P!
Human emotion can be a tricky thing. At once overwhelming and finely nuanced, it is a slippery being. It becomes difficult, sometimes impossible, to express what one wants to say, what one is feeling. Sometimes one does not want to express one's feelings, but just clarify, validate, what something nebulous that one feels is. Sometmes one is in search of that perfect punch line that is just there...at the tip of one's tongue, but elusive.
Poetry is the refuge of all such souls. Sometimes a few lines express so well what one has not even admitted to oneself that it makes us wonder - how did the poet know so well? And then one has one's favourite poet, favourite poems.
Amartya Sen says in his foreword - "If one can find the right poem, quoting someone else can be as much an expression of one's deeper self as anything one can write oneself. This is a remarkable collection not only for the beauty and reach of the poems themselves, but also for what it tells us about many people who have been active in one walk of life or another, since the selections allow us to have a quick peek into their minds."
A Poem for Cry is an anthology of favourite poems by what sounds like the Who's Who of India. Adi Godrej, Rahul Dravid, Gulzar, Sachin Tendulkar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Indira Hinduja, Anjolie Ela Menon, Sri Sri Ravishankar, Nandan Nilekani, Aparna Sen, Kiran Bedi, Shah Rukh Khan, Amartya Sen, Lata Mangeshkar, Tarun Tahliani, Vikram Seth, Zubin Mehta, Jayant Narlikar, Kiran Majumdar Shaw, Dom Moraes, Rahul Bajaj, Amitabh Bachchan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Medha Patkar, Mulk Raj Anand, Derek O'Brien, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Justice Y. V. Chandrachud, Fareed Zakaria, Sonia Gandhi, Shyam Benegal, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Azim Premji ... You get the picture?
Some of the poems in this anthology?
Daffodils by William Wordsworth. Mulk Raj Anand, Vishwanathan Anand. Karan Johar.
If (If you can keep your head when all about you) by Rudyard Kipling. Lord Bagri. Farzana Contractor. Rahul Dravid. Adi Godrej. Parameshwar Godrej.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Manvinder Singh Banga. Harsh Goenka. Uday Kotak. Azim Premji.
Epitaph on a Tyrant by W.H.Auden. Shyam Benegal.
Footprints In The Sand by Mary Stevenson. Dr Indira Hinduja. Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's teacher. Shah Rukh Khan.
And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Malavika Sangghvi.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning. Naseeruddin Shah.
Speak Gently by David Bates. Brinda Somaya.
Where The Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore. Tariq Ansari. Rahul Bajaj. Nana Chudasama. Aamir Khan. Anand Patwardhan. Aruna Roy. Prannoy Roy. Mallika Sarabhai. Viren Shah. Kiran Majumdar Shaw. Kavitha Krishnamurthy Subramaniam.
And many more.
The anthology does not limit itself to poems from English. There are poems in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Bangla, Tamil, Sanskrit. I was thrilled to find the Gayatri Mantra recommended by Nandan Nilekani. These poems are printed in the original followed by an English translation.
Quite a few poems were not known to me, as were a few poets. Some intrigued me enough for me to do a search for more poetry by that poet. A learning experience.
For A too. I read Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's teacher to her, and I could sense her paying very close attention. Why? Let me reproduce the poem here.
He will have to learn, I know
that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that
for ever scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish politician,
there is a dedicated leader.
Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend.
Teach him to learn to lose...
and also to enjoy winning.
It will take time, I know;
but teach him, if you can,
that a dollar earned is of far more value
than five found...
Steer him away from envy,
if you can,
teach him the secret of
quiet laughter.
Let him learn early that
the bullies are the easiest to lick...
Teach him, if you can,
the wonder of books...
But also give him quiet time
to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun,
and flowers on a green hillside.
In school teach him
it is far more honourable to fail
than to cheat...
Teach him to have faith
in his own ideas,
even if every one tells him
they are wrong...
Teach him to be gentle
with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.
Try to give my son
the strength not to follow the crowd
when every one is getting on the bandwagon.
Teach him to listen to all men...
but teach him also to filter
all he hears on a screen of truth,
and take only the good
that comes through.
Teach him, if you can,
how to laugh when he is sad...
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics
and to beware of too much sweetness...
Teach him to sell his brawn
and brain to the highest bidders
but never to put a price tag
on his heart and soul.
Teach him to close his ears
to a howling mob
and to stand and fight
if he thinks he’s right.
Treat him gently;
but do not cuddle him,
because only the test of fire
makes fine steel.
Let him have the courage
to be impatient...
let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always
to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will always have
sublime faith in mankind.
This is a big order;
but see what you can do...
He is such a fine little fellow,
my son!
As are our daughters! A was listening wide-eyed, and smiling as I ended it. As soon as I finished reading it, she got up and hugged me tight. Probably recognising the love behind all the scoldings I seem to be giving her currently. Pre-teens!
This is certainly a book I'll want to buy for my own collection. The copyright is held by CRY :Child Rights and You. All profits will go to them.
Crossposted at Bookreviews.
I am entering this book for the 2011 South Asian Challenge and the Reading the World Challenge 2011 at Papertigers. India. Non-fiction. Poetry.
