A Jab at Reality

Kaiser Haq's latest book of poetry 'Pariah and other poems' is a social commentary in verse that alludes to the past and present with the perfect timing of a well edited short film. Cleverly he juxtaposes imagery through economically chosen words to recreate stories that have an almost journalistic authenticity. At times he is the perfect romantic at others the jaded cynic but each poem has elements of reality that is all too familiar.

'Beginnings' is clearly a nostalgic journey into the unadulterated simplicity and joy of the poet's childhood days. Like carefully crafted montage he conjures up pictures of a young boy enjoying life to the full : NayaPaltan –two trochees/is where I was born/and grew up barefoot/in streets of dust/and clean mud/with monsoons drumming/on tin roofs…

Like the comforting drone of continuous rain, the first few paragraphs describe the modest activities that occupied boys of his age when the lack of fancy toys could not dampen the unbridled enthusiasm of youth. There is of course plenty of his signature wit in description of a Dhaka still struggling with a colonial hangover with its 'varsity handing out hand-me-down degrees' and establishments proclaiming outlandish ambitions like 'Hotel Airline and Bar'. There is wistfulness in his reminiscences of reading 'Radiant Reading' under hurricane light – life's simple pleasures that only childhood can hold.

Pariah and other poems Kaiser Haq Published by Bengal Lights Books

'Learning Grief' delves into the curious way children deal with grief – by shutting out emotions. At first it seems the child is indifferent to the mourning of a death but the last few stanzas reveal the deep seated grief of losing a sibling that overshadows any other tragedy.

Haq weaves in emotions into his poetry, sometimes as a personal response to something and at other times as a dispassionate observer. But he is always telling a story or part of a story. 'Pariah' is probably the most striking of this collection- the tale of a young, vibrant intelligent man who starts out as the life of every neighbourhood adda – full of witty stories to regale his fans but who falls into despair as he is forced into the realm of reality. After he loses his job and financial hardship takes away his spirit he attempts to take his life and eventually goes mad, like the pariah dogs that keep barking insanely in the neighbourhood. All this is apparently narrated by a young boy who is becoming acquainted with life's darker side where the spirit of youth is so easily squashed by an indifferent, ruthless society:

“He was out of a job soon after, his humour/of no avail, in fact a liability; rummaging/Wanted columns with growing desperation/forgot to laugh, grew morose, glazed eyes refusing/recognition to disciple and detractor alike.
'Kabbadi with Death' is another scathing lambasting of a society that is becoming increasingly brutish, superficial and inhuman in its hunger for entertainment at any cost. Even without reading the dedication you know straight away what this poem is about – the brutal killing of Biswajit Das, a young tailor, who was caught in the deadly battle of political goons. Huq lashes out at the media obsessed with breaking news giving the starved audience what they want knowing full well that one gruesome incident will be completely forgotten when the next one comes along:

“In this another face we will forget/Another face joining millions of faces/To make an identikit of Everyman/As victim, History's stooge, elided/Into anonymity in statistical footnotes…”

Other poems such as 'Buriganga Blues', 'Nanga Pagla Addresses the Nation' and 'How many Budhas Can They Destroy?' all have strong political messages. It is the poet's protest against the madness of political opportunism and religious intolerance.

In contrast is the tongue in cheek humour in 'Eid Mubarak' , a jab at the realities of aging:
“At sixty plus/one doesn't look forward/to festivals-and further proof of the inadequacies of the pocketbook…”
Haq's poems in this collection are like an album of pictures that seem random but are in fact deliberate in their sequence. Going back and forth they keep reminding us of the contrasts between past and present, youth and old age and the emotions that accompany these transitions.