Mangalore: Lived as a bureaucrat, Will Die as a Poet – Ashok Vajpeyi

By H M Pernal
Pics by John V Tauro
Bellevision Media Network

Mangalore, 14 Jul 2013: The job of the poet is a duty of despair said renowned poet, critic, cultural activist and former bureaucrat  Ashok Vajpeyi , quoting the words of Socialist Leader  Ram Manohar Lohia,  here in Mangalore. He was delivering II James and Shobha Mendonca Endowment Lecture on poetry organized by Kavita Trust led by Sahitya Academy award winner poet Melvyn Rodrigues at SDM College Mangalore.

Elaborating further  the complex relationship between the world poetry , Vajpeyi said “ world is full of violence. In today’s world violence is not confined to war alone, it is there in entertainment and sports too. When a cricket match is lost people often say the match is lost because of the lack of killer instinct in players. Today’s world is in such a hurry, even after road rages people end up time meant for thinking watching what others say on idiot box. Today’s bazaar culture has allocated the job of thinking to others”
Vajpeyi emphasized on the fact that poetry is possible if there is hope for change.  Though today progress is measured by things only ideas can change the world.

Equating poetry to militancy against uniformity Vajpeyi said “Poetry should enforce faith in pluralistic truth”  Vajpeyi candidly questioned -  why there should be a single truth ? Admitting himself a non believer and referring to Karl Marx and Gandhi, Vajpeyi said ideas of change are mooted all alone in the history. This is is the reason great poets said Akela Chalo.
Elaborating further on the complex relationship of world and poetry, Vajpeyi said -  “ Though the world can do without poetry, poetry can’t do without poetry.

Quoting great German poet  Rainer Maria Rilke, Vajpeyi said poetry is praise of the world. But the relationship between cosmic and domestic world is very complex one.

 
Firmly declaring that Language is a social property, Vajpeyi said no one can claim custodians of a language and no individual can create a language. And society never asks any individual to write and change society. Writing poetry is purely a  personal  decision.

 

 

Charging present day media and language teaches at schools Vajpeyi said “ They are spoiling the language” He further said “ forget about words, young generation find it difficult to spell the words properly”

Declaring each poem contains half truth , Vajpeyi said poetry is not an instant communication like news item, though in earlier days some poets did the job of chroniclers. Poetry transports you from one world to another as such there is no notion of progress in poetry.  Poetry is about plurality of world, time and truth.

Mentioning all major epics were written in poetry, Vajpeyi said in poetry always others should matter.
Referring to the poets who were freedom fighters and wrote poems on freedom struggle as average poets Vajpeyi said writing for personal and social cause are two different aspects.

Vajpeyi concluded his lecture quoting the advice he received from elders at the age of 14 - Live as a bureaucrat and die as a poet to mention the fact the poetry affirms the fact of being human in all languages.Vajpeyi recited some of his selected poems. 
Kavita Trust Trustee William Pais introduced Ashok Vajpeyi to the audience. Kavita Trust President Melvyn Rodrigues welcomed Vajpeyi with a garland of mangalore jasmine flowers.

Ashok Vajpeyi gave his autographed books to James and Shobha Mendonca, Rohan Monterio and Dr Devaraj as token of gratitude from Kavita Trust. 

Kiran Parmar compered the programme.Kavita Trust presented Vajpeyi a Coffee table book, The Land Called South Kanara by William Pais and a painting.

200 people attended this endowment lecture on poetry.