Prof Dr Shiv Sethi
Author: Jaiprakash Agrawal
Publisher: Cleverfox Publishing
Year of publication: 2025
Pruce: Rs 199/
It will not be erroneous to remark that literature enables a man to unravel the deeper mysterious of life, Particularly poetry which is believed to be a sublime form of literature reconnects man’s broken umbilical cord with divinity and helps him deal with a host of existential dilemmas that keep confronting him through the course of his mundane sojourn. Artistically and adroitly addressing these metaphysical queries, the book “Our Journey of Life” an anthology of subtlety crafted poems by eminent Indian poet Jaiprakash Agrawal recently registers its presence in vibrant corridors of literature. Originally written in Hindi, under the title ‘Humaari Jeevan Yatra’, the book has been excellently rendered in English by Ritu Bhatnagar.
As remarked by WB Yeats “Symbolism is the heart of poetry and literature”. It is one such potent literary device with which an author evokes subtle, complex emotions and taps into the power of unconscious associations and spiritual experiences. Irrefutably, this book “Journey of Life” is richly replete with deep symbolism.
The title testifies about the veracity of this truth. Life is indubitably a symbolic journey which has its culmination in form of death but nowhere it signifies annihilation.Therefore, the doctrine of the permanence of soul and its final mingling with the divine becomes the warp and woof of this book.
Every journey has different phases; rather it has varied shades. Similarly when a man embarks on his journey of life, he has to encounter umpteen daunting challenges which attempt to bog him down. However, his unshakeable faith in divinity stands by him and infuses spiritual energies in his feeble frame for negotiating through the rough and tumbles.
The remarkable manner, in which, Shakespeare segments man’s life into various stages in his magnum opus Drama ” As You Like It”, in a similar fashion, the poet contemplates man’s journey through his verses beginning from birth, moving in a gradual manner through chirpy childhood, vigorous youthful days , the debilitating dotage and then eventually slipping into the menacing claws of death. But imperishable Soul finds its final culmination when as a drop it gets immersed into the might ocean of the Divine. The author must be commended for shedding light on these most significant aspects.
At no point of time we find the poet sounding cynic. He does not detest death rather embraces it with a conviction that death is not the end of life. Here, we are reminded of Wordsworth who says in “Tintern Abbey”
” Soul’s dwelling is the light of setting suns, And the round ocean and the living air,”
A Few lines from this book must be quoted to arouse the inherent quest in readers ‘.
“The flute echoes with Krishna’s finger,
compelling the body and the mind.
The troubled hearts get satisfied
finding every moment of joy!
The Life is a celebration of love.
There is no place for hatred in it.
If there is a shade of flowers,
do not be troubled by the thorns!
In a nutshell, it is indeed a remarkable poetic reflection on the different dynamics of spiritual and existential philosophies and becomes a must-read.
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