The City Under the City - Jeet Thayil

Poetry

Verdict: Confusing Read

As I mentioned a few posts back, this was a very confusing book of poetry. I think mainly because I am not able to connect with this type of poetry. That being said, it wasn't a long or hard read. Check it out if you like Jeet Thayil or confusing poetry. 

~Becky~

Burning Roses in my Garden: Taslima Nasreen

Poetry

Verdict: Read it!

It appears I was on a poetry streak. I assure you, it wasn't intentional.  I've read other things that Taslima Nasreen has written and I like her work a lot, which led me to pick this book up. 

It's an easy book, I think it took me about an hour to read. But what an enjoyable hour that was. I was disappointed when it ended because I wanted to go on reading and wallowing in the experience. 

Poetry is such a subjective experience. These poems were very simple and relatable. I enjoy that immensely, but each reader must have his or her own preferences.  I don't expound much upon poetry that I read because I'm no expert. At best I'm an amateur dabbler and amateur dabblers should pontificate too much. 

Read it!

~Becky~

Restless Lives: Harish Bhat

Poetry

Verdict: Read it

I believe this was another newspaper recommendation. I haven't read anything by Harish Bhat previously. This is a collection of poetry meant to slow people down and calm them. I don't know if I personally believe that poetry can do that, or that this particular collection of poetry did that for me, but I enjoyed reading it.

Read it!

~Becky~

Three Women in a Single-Room House: K. Srilata

Poetry

Verdict: Read it!

I haven't read anything by K. Srilata before and I'm so glad I picked this up. I either love or hate poetry, depending on the subject matter and how it's done. This was so beautiful in its simplicity. 

It's a very short book with a series of poems about living with other women. I wouldn't say it's generic, but as a woman, it was very relatable. The theme is overall whistful and the author covers a variety of topics. I will definitely read it again.

Read it!

~Becky~

Beloved Delhi: A Mughal City and Her Greatest Poets - Saif Mahmood

NonFiction

Verdict: Read It (4/5)

Overview:

I picked this up from Bookworm. It is the first work I have read by Saif Mahmood

I have a horrific fascination with Delhi. It's a complex city with an intricate history of amazing and terrible things. Poets are one of the geat things to come out of the city. I especially enjoy reading about Urdu poetry, though it continues to escape my comprehension if not appreciation. 

Saif Mahmood goes on a tour of Delhi and some of her most famous poets. It's a history and cultural lesson neatly wrapped up.

What I Enjoyed:

Saif Mahmood has a gift for bringing to life poets. His insight into them as people and in their time context is excellent for understanding where the poetry they wrote came from. Each section is digestible and while related, it is not necessary to read any other section to understand; you can come and go as you'd like.

What I Disliked:

I wanted more information! To be fair, it's a good-sized book and more information would have been overkill.

Summary:

This is a good read if you're feeling indulgent or romantic. Urdu poetry could bring romance even out of the dead. Understanding the poets and city that produced it helps you appreciate the poetry even more. Read it!

 

~Becky~

Firaq Gorakhpuri - The Poet of Pain and Ecstasy: Ajai Mansingh

Non-Fiction

Verdict: Maybe if you have an interest in poets or Urdu

I bought this books because 1: the cover is pretty, and 2: because I thought it was poetry and I'm trying to expand my understanding of poetry. It turned out not to be poetry per say, but a biography. 

The author is a relative of Firaq Gorkahpuri, and he makes it very clear from the beginning that he wishes to clear up misconceptions of the poet. Some of this he does, some of this he reinforces, so it's a little odd. 

Overall, the man behind the poetry struck me as a simple man. Fussy, flawed and normal as any other man. I was particularly unimpressed with his obsession with how he was fooled into marrying a sub-optimal woman in his words. 

It was interesting, as most biographies are, to watch the progress of someone's life and to understand how they ended up how they did. In spite of this not being a poetry book, there's quite a bit of poetry in this book to illustrate the poets mindset. I very, very much liked his poetry. I found myself spending way too much time translating in my head. I wasn't particularly impressed with the translations given, but that may just be a result of my not understanding Hindi/Urdu as well as I wish. 

The book was quite a bit longer than it needed to be, and often circled back to the same content.

Read it if you enjoy Urdu poetry or want to understand about Firaq Gorakhpuri.

~Becky~

Essential Rumi

Poetry
Verdict: Read it

Ah Rumi. You and your poety friends continue to elude me. I'll be honest here. I picked up Rumi because I saw a lot of nice Pinterest quotes and I was hoping to cultivate an appreciation and understanding of poetry - especially that of the Urdu variety.

Unfortunately, I did not have any more luck with Rumi than I did with Neruda, Ghalib, etc. This is not to say it wasn't worth reading, nor that it was poorly written. I just felt like I didn't get it.

What I very much did appreciate was the historical and cultural context this book shared with me in regards to Urdu poetry. It was all at once fascinating and terrible to read - I wondered if I was even qualified to understand the explanation, leave alone the poetry.

In the end it was beautiful to read and I will continue my exploration. Hopefully with time and some handy guides to poetry, I should be able to have a better grasp on this type of thing.

Becky