Under the Sapphire Sky — Book Review

Under the Sapphire Sky

In her note, the multifaceted academician, poet, and editor Sangeeta Sharma, PhD, says that her poetic sensibilities were irrigated by the breathtaking arboreal and floral beauty and snowy and summery spells of North America, and thus, this exquisite book, Under the Sapphire Sky, was born. With an edifying poetic elegance, she captures the Canadian resplendence and Indian summer, captivating the reader with her word paintings.

In the Foreword, Scott Thomas Outlar says: “This book references the powerful energy of the Phoenix and touches upon the concept of spiritual transformation that each spirit journeys through.”

She further says that Under the Sapphire Sky is influenced by the Zen philosophy – which believes in the everydayness of ‘here and now’ and allows the practitioner to experience time sometimes as a ‘memory’ (or retention) and other times as ‘anticipation’ (or ‘protention’) in the ever-flowing stream of ‘present’.

The book is an edifying read in five sections: Nature, Nostalgia, Culture, L’Amore, and Reflections.

The first section, Nature, takes us to a sylvan world, where we are serenaded by the dawn chorus — chirping birds, playful clouds, musically swaying trees, fragrant flowers, and the melodious spree of the blackbirds and yellowthroats. We are enchanted by the luminous sun casting its incandescent glow. But in ‘Has Nature Lost its Way?’ she is gripped by the fear that, because of traumatic weather changes, doomsday appears to be drawing near.

“The already brimming lakes and rivers swell their aquamarine bosoms,
full and swollen disrupt life and paralyze
The reality ruthless, alarms
Climate change and traumatic weather trials
Extremes of the tropical monsoon
or the Great White North, Rules a fear
that the doomsday’s near…!”

In her poetry, we encounter fresh, crisp, original similes unburdened with the jaggedness of cumbersome clichés.

In ‘A Long Drive in the Snowy Winter’, she compares, “An unending, undulating tarred road” to a “fat black python lying flat on the boulevard”.

In ‘Life: A Blur’, we find:
“The night swigs the day leisurely like a tired executive
sipping mild vodka to unwind after a long day.”

Moreover, the playful onomatopoeia in her poems creates vivid sensory experiences, making us almost hear what is happening. She very effectively harnesses this literary device and creates powerful imagery devoid of jarring verbosity.

“Jungle babbler’s harsh kee-kee,
kutroo…kutroo…
of brown-headed barbets
the coo-ee and keek-keek-keek of the Asian koels,”
[‘Verdant Oasis’]

She reiterates confidently that nature has great therapeutic powers:
“When life gets tough and as splinters prick
Hope trudges in with silent feet and feeling hands,
of a valued friend”

…

“Or driving on the winding pathways amidst olive pastures
Scented breeze caressing the façade and playing with open tresses
Or the kind, soothing words of a trusted guardian
who truly cares through thick and thin.”
[‘Hope’]

As we read on, we find our moods lifting from darkness to light, her poems providing succour.

“Following the Second World War,
with wide-open arms
Cherry blossoms bring to all cheer, year after year.”

Or, find her poems, opening up
“doors ajar to a lyrical, haloed, plausible world
Like a feisty carol that lifts up the sagging spirits
Or the delight at the sight of a sun-kissed, blazing road
surrounded with white ready-to-harvest fields
Or driving on the winding pathways amidst olive pastures”
[‘Hope’]

In the second section, ‘Nostalgia’, she waxes poetic about the Patriarch, her Alma Mater, and the lost loved ones.

“The heart pines for things lost!
The pain, the sorrow, the longing gush
The memories in your heart’s safe, rush
I tried walking an extra mile”

In ‘The Patriarch’, like every doting daughter, she misses her dad. I felt a lump in my throat, as I read on:
“A rich life reduced to a framed photograph with a garland
The Roman nose and broad forehead
Lent him a regal look
His neat scribble on the diary…”

Oft reminded of her ‘Alma Mater’, it
“Prods me to revisit and have a look at the edifice
To scurry through its corridors and sit in the cool, shaded greenhouse
Draped with creepers and climbers.
To warble again in accompaniment of piano – the choirs and the hymns
Praying before every exam at the in-house chapel
What a leveller a school is!”

For a daughter visiting her parents’ house is sheer magical joy.
“The parks, the pillars, the open pastures
The architecture, the dialect, the faces
The shops, the flavours and the smell of the delicacies
…
The cycle rickshaws with their pullers
Unfamiliar but yet so familiar
An unspeakable sense of oneness
That unites even with strangers
Bewildering is the bond with the land
That irrigates and refuels the draining soul!”
[‘The House That Beckons…’]

With a pen dripping with poignancy, she writes about her Ma’s sewing box, reminding me of my mother’s sewing machine, which she had bought in installments. She would surprise us with her stitching prowess, furtively honed.

One sighs with the poet as she reminisces about the land left behind [‘The Pull of Your Land’]
“As I closed my eyes
To surmise
The welkin, the cool sweep
Of the breeze
Carried me to the bygone days
The empyreal tapestry
Of the sky, the smells
The mild sunshine,
…
On the Indian soil
There used to be a delight in the air
Enchanted atmosphere
…
Where love, laughter and cuddles abound
The parched soul yearns
Struggling to taste the nectar droplets of love, kinship and intimacy.”

The section ‘Culture’ is steeped in Krishna Ashtami, Sita, Sati, and Diwali hues. In ‘Sacrosanct Himalayas’, she dreams of visiting the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati, Mount Kailash.

In ‘Sati and Sita’, she exhorts womenfolk to
“Change the gender binaries!
Don’t succumb, don’t swallow your anger and pride!”

She calls Mandodari and Trijata the two sane voices in Lanka. Mandodari, the daughter of Mayasura, the king of Asuras and the queen-consort of Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, is extolled as beautiful, pious, and rational in the Ramayana. She shows the path of righteousness to the ten-headed asura, Ravana, and advises him against harassing Sita. But Ravana turns a deaf ear to her sane advice and is killed at the hands of Lord Rama.

Trijata, a wise old demoness, assigned the duty of guarding the kidnapped Sita, is another sane voice amidst evil. Reassuring Sita of Rama’s well-being and pacifying her by predicting Ravana’s doom and Lord Rama’s victory, she comforts Sita, dissuading her from committing suicide.

Though demonesses, they represent goodness, positivity and reverence for Lord Rama, untouched by the malevolence of the demons of Lanka and believe in the supremacy of Dashrathnandan. In ‘Diwali’, she says that during this festival, oil lamps thrill hearts and light hearths within, expel darkness of ignorance, spreading the light of auspicious love and knowledge.

She calls her Nepal visit ‘a soul-enriching journey’, not just because of the alluring Himalayas, but the 5th Century BC Pashupatinath temple, the holiest ‘Lord Shiva’ shrine, the famous aarti rituals, encapsulating the spiritual essence. Chanting of Vedic mantras, ringing of bells and music of the traditional drums, conch shells, cymbals, uplifting one’s spirits. She writes that the daytime gloom evanesces into a blissful evening with the singing of hymns signalling the Hindus’ view of death as not the ‘end’ but rebirth and regeneration, a belief healing the bereaved. Lord Shiva himself is an epitome of destruction and regeneration!

In the fourth section, ‘L’amore’, she unabashedly talks of pristine love and physical intimacy.

In ‘Thirst’, she says,
“Passing through this narrow dust path
surrounded with multi-hued orchids
I yearn for your company, my love!
I search for you in the sunny fields…”

The last section, ‘Reflections’, has a philosophical tone, making one introspect. In the second last poem in the book, she says,
“Sometimes it’s a bed of roses
A thorny couch, another instance.
The sun rises and the sun sets

“Time past can never be regained
In this journey called life
There’s pleasure and pain
There’s loss and gain
We, as travellers, should not complain and like
Phoenix rise again and again.”
[‘Moment’]

In ‘Is Death Ever a Choice?’, she philosophizes,
“The body that’s born fresh,
blooms and blossoms
Desiccates, gets diseased, and fades
Like a broken-winged bird,
it flutters and falters
To rise again, clings and glues to lifebook o
Writhing and wrestling with pain
Soon lifted into the arms of death
Hardly ever by choice.”

Sangeeta Sharma

This sensitively written book, pulsating with a strong current of spirituality, is a valuable addition to poetry books published in recent years. Looking forward to more poems from Sharma, welcoming us in their many layers, like the cherry blossoms she so lovingly talks of.

Under the Sapphire Sky
Poet: Sangeeta Sharma, Canada
ISBN: 978-81-963006-9-2
Publisher: Tristoop Books

About the Poet

Sangeeta Sharma, a Toronto-based academic, is the Senior Editor of Setu, a bilingual, international peer-reviewed journal and former head, English, in a degree college affiliated to the University of Mumbai.
She has authored a book on Arthur Miller, three collection of poems, edited seven anthologies on poetry, fiction and criticism (solo and joint) and two workbooks on communication.

A nemophilist at heart, writing poetry as a Romanticist exalts her.

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About the Author

Santosh Bakaya ( 175 Posts)

Dr Santosh Bakaya is the author of three mystery novels for young adults, and a book of essays titled Flights From My Terrace, which was recently published as an e-book on Smashwords. Her poetic biography of Mahatma Gandhi, Ballad Of Bapu has been published by Vitasta Publishers, Delhi, India in May 2015 and has been receiving rave reviews from everywhere. Although a Political theorist, with a doctorate in political theory, it is literature which has been her first love. She was awarded the Reuel international award for language and literature 2014 for her long poem Oh Hark!, which forms part of the Significant Anthology. Many of her poems have figured in the highly commended category in Destiny Poets, a UK based website and many are part of international anthologies. Right now, she is giving the final touches to her satirical novel, tentatively titled Sanakpur Shenanigans.
All Posts of Santosh Bakaya