Samuel Beckett once rightly said, "Poets are the sense, philosophers, the intelligence of humanity.A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." The moment Igot the sixth volume of poetry of Jepulin RajkumariI fell in love with her vocabulary which is in best order and matched to the content in her poems. She is a prolific poet andwriter having an inborn creative talent with an incredible zeal of a social reformer andpositive vibes.
This poet of Assam has again gained recognition from the Government of Assam with a fifty thousand cash award, recently for her poetic efforts. Her first book was a collection of essays, Dapon, published in 2016. But her poetic debut was Dichangporiya Ratani Moi, which was followed by Chamiyana, Bhogjara and Phoenix, each one revealing her poetic oeuvre.Ujjayini was her coming of age book. Her book, Tumi Koisila – Tumi Mor Beatrice,gained huge popularity and it was published by Protisruti Prakashan. This Beatrice ofAssamese love poetryenchanted the readers of Chamiyanain 2000. Her poeticalecstasystunned thereaders and gained her a wider reach and admirers. Since then, her golden nib inked more than 500 poemson love and life. Many of them she recorded in her diaries in the gap of her social preoccupations.A serious socialactivistshe simultaneously kept on writing essays for book,Dapon,as early as 2016which was a vivid social document reflecting her profound perception on society and on the burningissues of her times Dichungporiya Ratani Moi, published in 2018. Phoenix(2019) was her third anthologypublished in 2019. She is a dynamic personality revealing herpenchant forBihu Dance and inscribed her name in the hearts of the audience as a singer.
Ujjayaniis a collection poemsin which she raised profound questions oflifein poems such as Jajabori Jibon, Dushapno , Rod e Pora Neelachal, Poti-Potni,AcholManuh, Kobitar Mahasabha, Nari Kiyo Eti Karun Bahi,Kencha Ghar Jwalanto Jui,etc. Truth that is unbearable is painful like the freshwounds, says she in one of her poems. She compares the old houses to the pastmemories, in another poem.Worship ofgreen leaves isthe secret of her poetic energy.Sometimes shevoicesloud the agonies of a female heart. Maximum feelings in minimum words are the sine qua non ofher poetic style that gives her poems a new dimension. Sometimes her mind goes romantic in which she imagines herself in the image of Radha listening to the flute of her lover in the colourful bower.Her tone reached a mature stage of lyrical expression in, Your Love and My Love, (Tomar Pre , Mor Prem), a poem where shebrings the comparison of male and female minds reacting to love. In her poem she refers to Oinitam, a festive song of the Mising Bihu, thus focusing on the tribal heritage . This is combined with her modern musing on Cleopatra in one of her poems. Again. she imagines the Mississippi or the Amazon or the Kanchenjunghaand the China Wall to define the width and height of her depth. 'You areMark Antony, I amCleopatra'. whata simple yet profound utterance from the deep core of her heart. She discoversthe limitless horizon of the firmament in her love. In another poem she speaks of the moonlitnight for the celebration of love. In one poem she expects her lover to gift her a flower bouquetevery day"Every day you will come to me to give me a flower/ To make my life colourful ".That such a serious writer ofarticles on social issues with so much zeal of a reformer can so gracefully dive deep into thefathomless poetic ecstasy especially of Romantic love is more than an astonishing featfor any poet. Jepulin can write fast and so profoundly because she breathes poetry rather than writes it. She writes on all six different seasons of Assam in the manner of English poet Thomson and describes the beauty of all the months Kartick, Aghon, Spring, Fagun. She observes each hour of the day and can write on morning and evening. She asks frankly in one poem, "Can I fall in love?"She writes on the Dichang Festival, and with equal grace on Tejimala, and the story of rebirth (Punor Janam Kahini) to inspire the women of our times.
A great poet is always a great motivator and Jepulin's poetry motivates not merely the members of the Tai Ahom Council in which she holds a prestigious position, but also the readers in general. She inspires all in her artistic activities, even her own daughter, by publishing her book of poetry. All these are due to her love of poetry and life.
Her write ups in nearly all-important Assamese newspapers and her nearly regular publication ofpoemsinthenationalAssamesedailiesmesmerisethereadersinherpassionatescholarshipasshe uses a lot of learning in her poems and the images of European and Indian literature enrichthe texture of her poems all throughthis marvellous combo of reflection and passion.
It isimportant that sheenjoys the role of organising women of the Tai community in progressive activities andengages them in creative works as the president of the All Tai Ahom Writers' Council CentralCommittee.HerpoemshaveawonderfulrangeandvarietythatincludepoemsonParentalLove, Nature , Society ,and Conjugal life,Filial bonding and so on. But as a spokesperson of women'sfreedom she seems to be the best .
Robert Frost once said, "I have never starteda poem whoseend I knew".Writing a poem is discovering. This is absolutely what happens in the poems ofJeuplin Rajkumari. In Xaponor Jonak she dreams, we see the quest for her own self in Nixhar Batori, she is romantic in Nahoror Deshot Sonaru,she talks of her green land in Indranil, she writes on the beauty of Aswin, or on the emptiness of Kartick, she is the poet of sunshine and again she loves rain. She loves red and it is the colour of love and revolution. She is 'a poet of the red'.Poetry for Jepulin is a political act because it involves telling of the Truth. When we read her poems, we feel as Carl Sandburg said, `Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance'.
Dr Ratan Bhattacharjee
Dr Ratan Bhattacharjee a senior academician and Trilingual poet and story writer cum columnist may be reached at profratanbhattacharjee@gmail.com
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