Book Reviews

ENGLISH

Name of the Book: NIGHTMARE AND NETWORK
Author: Dr. Srinivas K. Sastry
Publishers: Yuganta Press, Stanford, U.S.A.
Pages: 118
Price: Not noted

NIGHTMARE AND NETWORK, A philosophic perspective, is a strikingly original and interesting piece of writing characterised by a pleasing bland of literature and philosophy, intellectual vigour and intensity of feeling, sensitivity and broad humanism. The author stated in the post script of this book “the spirit of dear departed Father, Pandit, Jnani and Vedantin speaks to and through me throughout Nightmare and Network. The book is intended to a basil petal offered from Bharatvarsha to the Western Hemisphere. It is dedicated to President James E. Carter, who tried to ethic politics in the U.S.A.

The central theme of the book is the philosophical perspective arising from the depths of an intense personal experience when a visa was refused by the American Consulate. The pain, anguish and despair caused by the rigidities of bureaucracy and his own failure to reunite with his family in America were turned into a profoundly soul searching experience with wider implications for the world. The experience produces an emotional state which leads to an identity crisis. It has a philosophical basis and extension.

The nightmare grows into a Gardian knot offering the option between cutting and unraveling. Eventually it becomes a sign port to sanity as the fire of suffering chastens and purifies. It has a cathartic effect.

While the nightmare is impersonal, immediate the network is impersonal, distant, cold and hydra-headed. The indistinguishability of society and the individual appears to be part of the network. When a conflict arises where the individual experiences from within, the community operates from without. The network also hints at the complicate relationship between the private self and the public self. Like most human experiences, the nightmare shows possibilities of universal application and participation by attracting a sympathy through communication channels.

Dr. Srinivasa Sastry’s, wide scholarship amply illustrated where he reinforced his ideas by quoting profusely from renowned philosophers and literary men like Dewey, Cant, Eliot, Sartre, Counelli, Whitehead, Cavell, Tagore etc.

The book contributes to some extent to the integration of the philosophical thought of India and the West.

The Appendices include the correspondence between the author and the consulate of U.S.A. stationed at Bombay and the former’s final letter to the President of America. The authors make interesting reading.

The book is well-got-up and aesthetically satisfying with an elegant cover design.

It makes a handsome addition to any library.

-I. V. Chalapati Rao

Name of the Book: RESURRECTION ­BOOK I
Author and Copies can be had from:
Dr. Tulsi Naidu,
Tradeverse & Friends, 21, 46/1,
Kakaninagar, Visakhapatnam 530 009
Pages: 78; Price: Rs. 45/­

During the earlier centuries famous English poets and also Indian English poets wrote their poems in metrical verse in different forms like the ode, sonnet, elegy, etc. This practice was in vogue till recently. But in the second half of this century, a new concept of writing called ‘Free Verse’ has become the fashion of the day in all languages. This hardly differs from paragraph writing because it looks like a prose piece, broken up at varying lengths. Hence an occasional attempt to revive the past glory of the metrical verse cannot but be appreciated.

Here comes “Resurrection Book I” by Tulsi Naidu, giving a new lease of life to the near-extinct form of traditional verse. Her painstaking efforts can be seen all through the book as she cheerfully undertakes the task of placing traditional poetry on the golden throne it had once occupied.

In the very first poem “Shattered Verse with Battered Rhyme and Tattered Rhythm” the poet laments thus:

“I grieve, O Rhyme, to see you badly battered
And Rhythm’s royal robes sadly tattered”

In the same poem she expresses her hope for the bright future poetry will have:

“Your place of pride may you soon regain;
With rhythmic steps may verse dance again”.

Altogether there are 14 poems which are handled with felicity. They make a pleasurable reading and take the reader into the forgotten era of Romantic and Metaphysical poets.

The title of the book is apt and suggestive. The cover design is simple.

- Mrs. Y. Satya Sree

‘Metverse Muse’ is a bi-annual journal of poetry in metrical verse published in January and July each year. It was established in 1996 with the purpose of promoting traditional verse. The Editor, Dr. H. Tulsi herself is a poet of good standing. She won the prestigious Michael Madhusudan Award in 1996 for her poetical works. Though the journal’s primary aim is to revive traditional verse, a few prosepieces also appear in the journal and they are written in engaging style. Among the contributors we find distinguished scholars/poets like Dr. Mahanand Sharma, Dr. Prema Nanda Kumar, Dr. A. H. Tak, Dr. Hazara Singh, Dr. Louella Lolo Prabhu from India and Dr. Rose Mary C. Wilkinson, Dr. Stella Browning, Dr. Eric Poersch, Mr. Peter Geoffrey Paul Thompson, and Br. Thomas Kretr from abroad.

These days prosody is not given due importance in many Indian University courses. It has become a fashion to write in unmetered verse or plain prose. In order to help budding poets who wish to write in metrical verse, the journal has started a new feature, ‘Prosody’, from January 1997 issue. This section offers guidelines and rules related to poetics. Those who desire to write poetry can derive maximum benefit from it.

There is another section devoted to Book Reviews, where critics offer their comments and suggestions.

All things considered, Metverse Muse is a journal which deserves to be read and subscribed by everyone who is specially interested in poetry.

The journal can be had from the following address:

Dr. H. Tulsi (Editor)
21-46/I, Kakani Nagar
NAD Post Office
VISAKHAPATNAM 530 009
Andhra Pradesh, India

–Y. Satya Sree

Name of the Book: “CELEBRATING THE ADVENT OF BHAGAVAN”
Published by: Sri V.S. Ramanan, President, Sri Ramanasraam, Thiruvannamalai-606 603Pages: 252; Hardbound; Price: Not known

This excellently got up book was published to commemorate the advent of the arrival at Thiruvannamalai of a young boy, a mere 16 year old, a century ago (on 1.9.1896 to be exact) who was to be later renowned and revered as a sage and seer, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. This profusely illustrated work is eminently suitable as not only a reference work and authoritative history of Bhagavan Ramana and the Asramam, but is useful to an inquisitive mind to open up into the teachings of the great Master.

This contains very rare and thought provoking articles and reminiscences by 40 of the eminent disciples and men of letters on various aspects of Sri Ramana’s precepts including a translation of his Garland of Poems and Harindranath Chattopadhaya’s “In Momoriam” on the death of the Holy Cow.

One of the rare books for those who cherish human values and the life and legend and teachings of one of the greatest thinkers of our time, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. A must for the thinking men and for libraries. The Ramanasramam and its President Ramanan deserve all praise and congratulations on this worthy effort.

–Vemaraju Narasimha Rao

MY INNER VISION (Poetic Anthology) Author: Sri V. V. Swamy; self publication. Price Rs. 30/-

The author is an amateur at poetry. Some of his ideas are good. But thought alone is not sufficient. Expression must also be good. Mr. Swamy’s poetry is in free verse. There are 27 poems in the book. His ideas are not new. Maturity of thought is wanting in his poetry. For instance in the poem ‘Religion’ the poet says:

“From time immemorial, the nature
Served humanity in equality”.

Is this statement correct? Is the sun enjoyed by equally by all parts of the world? Are the sees, mountains and rivers equally arranged in nature? In many other things there is inequality.

The poem ‘FOR YOUR SAKE’ though very small is rich in thought and expression but some type mistakes like ‘the ocean is you’ instead of ‘ocean in you’ cannot be easily substituted by the reader. In the poem ‘MOTHER’ the poet strives to convey that mother is the embodiment of love but has failed to convey the same successfully. The part in the poem ‘LOVE’ says:

“Love is an unknown sweet feeling”.

He is not right in observing so. Love, though abstract in sense, is visible in its acts. There is no depth of thought in many poems. There are grammatical and spelling mistakes here and there. Poetry of this quality cannot stand the test of time.

- Dr. C. Jacob