Dr. Susheel Kumar Sharma (b. 1962) has been serving the University of Allahabad as a Professor of English since 2003. He has published four books, thirty-five research papers, five interviews and twenty-eight book-reviews. He is also on the editorial panel of some journals. Some of his work can be viewed at http://allduniv.academia.edu/SusheelSharma/Papers. Dr Sharma is a creative writer too. Some of his poems have been published in Canada, France, Ireland, Scotland, the UK and the USA. A collection of more than thirty reviews of his first poetry book, From the Core Within (1999, ISBN: 81-85231- 27-3) has been published under the title Bricks and Bouquets (Ed. Sanjeev Kumar, New Delhi: Creative Books, 2008, pp xxxii + 69, ISBN: 81-85231- 32-X). Prof Sharma’s second collection of poems The Door is Half Open (ISBN: 978-81- 8435-341- 9, 2012, New Delhi: Adhyayan) has been received very well. Some of his poems have been translated into Assamese, French, Hindi, Lithuanian, Serbian and Turkish languages.
Prof. Sharma lives with his family at Vishrut, 5 MIG, Govindpur, Near Uptron Crossing, Allahabad – 211 004, India. He may be contacted on phone no. +91-532- 2542514, on Mobile phone no. 09450868483, 08173872609 and on e-mail: <susheelsharma.avap@gmail.com>
(Susheel Kumar Sharma)
- The World in Words
I
Look, what do the words say
About the world?
The layered world has four colours.
“Colours do not matter.”
“Bright radiates like God,
Dark absorbs like evil
Brown resembles devil
Yellow is Mammon.”
“Everybody lives fine.”
“The world is progressing,
It is moving on with a steady pace.”
“Live comfortably,
Live cosily,
We have five star facilities.
We arrange the best tours
And provide the best taxi services
And also the wonderful escorts.”
The rest depends on dollars
That you may spend;
God has given you intelligence
Enough I suppose.”
“Haven’t you been accredited with seven stars?”
“Do the stars really matter?”
“The magi were guided by
The Star to the messiah.
‘The Plough’ has been christened the sapt rishis.
The fault lies in us not in the stars.
Constellations matter and so do the stars.”
“We name the stars,
We assign them places.
We give them values.
We value gold and gulf-oil
Not the stars
We are the masters
Of our fate and yours.
The galaxy belongs to us
We don’t allow
Anyone to touch the moon. ”
II
“To taste
The best wines
You have to land here,
Don’t you know our history?
It’s available in French,
Spanish and of course English.
Doesn’t matter if you speak
Arabic or Persian
If the pockets carry enough petro-dollars.
Petrol can easily be exchanged
For wine. We have the oldest cellars, you know.”
“What is petrol? What good is it?
What worth is it?
It runs automobiles only,
Causes pollution,
Increases carbon monoxide
Adds to global warming.”
“Half a pint of red wine
Cures half of the mental ills.
The rest half is cured
By the BMW’s and the Kalashnikovs.”
Olive branches are good
For embellshments only.
III
Listen, O hungry and thirsty ones!
“Blessed are those that
Live hungry for they’ll inherit
The Kingdom of God at an early date.
Blessed are those that
Live thirsty for they’ll witness
God’s miracles at an early date.”
Packaged meals and water bottles
Are not the freebies for men
Send your girls to collect them;
What is physical violation?
Blessed are those that are pure in heart,
God sees hearts and not bodies;
No price tag provides
Purity of heart;
Don’t give that a fig;
The colour of blood
Does not change.
Remain meek if you
Wish to inherit the world.
Intolerant people
Make intolerant nations
Those need to be bombarded
To create new territories.
Blessed are the dove-lovers,
For they will be called the
Invisible sons of god.
Visible sons are crucified
God abandons them here
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
There is no DNA test
To judge their paternity;
Crossing the boundaries
They reach another world
To be declared orphans and mad
Blessed are those who are persecuted
For righteousness’ sake.
Don’t be poor in spirit
Don’t lose your heart
For the kingdom of heaven
Is to be brought here.
IV
Margie has been wandering
Speaking Russian, Italian and English
From India to Egypt from there to London
From New York to Mexico from there to Trichi.
She just mumbles, “I’m all alone in this world.”
John has been wandering
Speaking Spanish, French and Portuguese
From Goa to Jaipur from there to Sao Polo
From Tokyo to Quebec From there to Moscow.
He just mumbles, “I’m all alone in this world.”
They do not meet on the London Bridge;
Listening to sad music they
Cry in the crowded places and
Long for a companion to share a bed.
Raju and Sheeba make fun of them.
They share each other’s grief and
Peanuts earned on the lawns of India Gate.
V
What are you doing: raids,
No fear of media?
I control them.
Human rights?
I create them.
What are you searching: weapons,
How do you know?
I supplied them.
Mastermind dies?
Not a soul cares.
Returning of awards?
Criticism?
Two hoots.
Not a soul stirs.
No conscience pricks.
What is happening?
What are you doing?
God is hardly surprised.
“Rejoice and be glad,
For your reward is great in heaven,
For so they persecuted
The prophets who were before you.”
VI
It’s time to rejoice
The profit of the company
Has grown twenty times in five years.
We can now spend more in social service
And human welfare.
Community lunch is being provided.
It is supervised by famous chef Lee
Of Ashoka Hotel fame.
Dresses are being distributed
It is supervised by a famous model
Of Rina Dhaka’s designs.
A medical camp is held
It is supervised by famous doctors
Of Medanta Hospitals.
Best wines will be served
You have to wait till evening.
It will be supervised by Ramani Bina.
No one asks for an ID.
No one questions the PM.
Why daren’t I ask
“Have they paid
Their taxes?”
No one cares if you don’t join.
There has been no rain this year;
Are gods showing their displeasure?
VII
Dreams had been created
When I did not even know
Dreams can be had only by a sleeping person.
The entangle between how to dream big
And the big dreams have always confused me.
Big towers, big hotels, big industries
Big parties, big cars, big walls
Perhaps created big dreams.
I forgot about the big sun, big moon and big earth.
Bigger Jupiter and Saturn were soon missing
Even in the lullabies, poems and stories.
The shadow of the ever growing
Multi-storey walls slowly grew
Larger and larger
And the sun behind them
Became farther and farther.
The shadows grew larger and larger
Darkness became darker and darker
Dampness slowly covered the entire arena
Moss spread around and slowly
The dreams were reduced to patches.
Should I be afraid of smallness?
They say large amounts of energy comes
From the smallest atoms.
Should I clear the moss
Or smash the walls to bring in more sun
Or trace out my dreams even in the moss?
VIII
Democracy has come
Let us celebrate and dance
Equality has come let us sing and dance
We are free now let us rejoice and dance
I love my freedom let me leap into the sky.
I need not fear anybody
We can hold your hand now and pray
We need not be afraid of any dissent
Democracy has dawned.
To stand on my own feet had been
(Susheel Kumar Sharma)
