Thursday, May 21, 2015

The point of poetry and music?

Whats the point in poetry? I cant understand poetry. Poetry is not for me. I don't see the purpose in poetry. What can you make in poetry, the money is in fiction right?. These are a few quips to which I had absolutely no answers to when my book of poetry was published around the same time last year. But one morning on a ride to work, i found my answer. It was an absolute bugger of a morning. Heartaches, lost feminist battles, uncouth co-inhabitants - life was a bore. All I could think of was singing a long lost poem. "Ambigai pennea anandam paadida vaa.." as I sang those lines... each line filled me with joy, laughter and a firm belief that some of the lines were written exclusively for me, one song led to another I kept singing my favourite songs and with each song every line that was well written lifted a veil of depression that clouded my mind. When the poems spoke about life - I saw my life reflected in them, when they commented on a broken heart - i could feel the catharsis taking place within, when the refrains were on the inevitability of situations - my shortcomings made sense, when they proclaimed wonder - i could see a spark of divine in all forms of life. Only poetry can allow a person to cherish a stray word in isolation without any context whatsoever - contexts however explicit are immaterial to poetry and that is the beauty of a poem, it could be written for anyone for any reason but the way it speaks to you changes constantly based on your own needs - a poem doesn't require a context - it is the context that requires a poem - to give it meaning , to  make it bearable.  And that my friends is what poetry can do to you if you could just let it. Every song, every poem is an expression of a person's innermost desires, passion, beliefs, and inadequacies. Every thought in every poem can help you and me in making sense of all the chaos that clouds life if only we can see beyond the what's the point of poetry perspective. Yes! I don't make money out of poetry because poetry is not meant to be a money making exercise, in fact I don't think it is even meant to elicit a response - it is meant to feed a spiritual need which people who measure everything with the yardstick of input vs output will never understand. In the vicious cycle of beginnings and ends the only eternity is love and poetry seeks to serve that love and no one else.

12 comments:

Krishnamurthi Balaji said...

Superb ! very well-explained. It is meant to feed a spiritual need...

Krishnamurthi Balaji said...

The odd and the end met ..

Krishnamurthi Balaji said...

The odd and the end met ..

Krishnamurthi Balaji said...

Superb ! very well-explained. It is meant to feed a spiritual need...

Smitha said...

From when did u start justifying your poetry?? I have known u as a poet forever..

Smitha said...

From when did u start justifying your poetry?? I have known u as a poet forever..

Smitha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Life Is Beautiful!!! :-) said...

"it is meant to feed a spiritual need which people who measure everything with the yardstick of input vs output will never understand." I agree!!

Life Is Beautiful!!! :-) said...

When I think about it... Poetry has to play on what makes us essentially human... Poetry cannot exist without empathy... There can never be a poem that speaks to a psychopath, simply because poetry is meant to give you a "feels pill" 😃

Smitha said...

From when did u start justifying your poetry?? I have known u as a poet forever..

angelofdusk said...

@Smitha... Not a justification. Just saying that poetry doesn't need a justification. Someone had to say it. I chose to.

sowjenya said...

Well said