week 85 the window to the world on life of a poet (32): Asim Kumar Paul

The Editor,

The Hyde Park Poetry/Promising Poets.

I am happy to send the data for sharing with you 

With regards,

Asim Kumar Paul. 29.01.2015

Can you tell us about yourself?

I come from a Hindu family of low income group, and my parents came in India in 1940 deporting from Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakisthan). I was born in 1950 in India, and became Honors Graduate in Mathematics in 1971. And I was employed as a Government Servant in 1976, and retired from service in 2010.

From my school days I love poetry and since then I used to write poems in mother language, Bengali, and few poems were published in my pen name that time in early 1980s, in a famous small literary journal that is still being published from Kolkata. After that I started writing poetry in English in 1989, a few of them published in a local literary journal, and then there was a gap of ten years.  Again I started writing poems in English in 1999. And there was further gap of about five years, then first poetry book, THREE POEMS was published in 2005, the second WINTER SHADE TO HIS LIKING in 2007, the third, AZURE in 2010, and these poetry books are praised by leading poet, Dr. Benjamin Zephaniah of UK. And fourth poetry book, POETRY ALBUM, published in 2014. All books are self-published. Now I am working on my fifth poetry book, ‘RAIN: Poetry Album’ containing 34 poems with photos, and some of poems of this fifth poetry book is uploaded in YouTube in the link: http://youtu.be/alzLTtAyP94

Which country do you live in now? What’s your profession? be general, no need to specify your location...

I live at Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. I am a retired government servant.  

We’re happy that you have been part of Poets Rally as a participant, what has driven you to where you are in this particular community? 

I find the Poets Rally is very rich in propagating poetry, and many good poems are published in its links. Its official poetry sites, Perfect Poet Award Posts, etc. contain poems of very powerful poets. I enjoy in reading creations of the poets in this site. I am pleasantly happy to have my poems commented by poets of this group and read all words of comments very intensively and I feel inspired to write poems.

How long have you been blogging? Do you think being part of a poetry community contributes to your creative writing?

I started blogging in March, 2011 just after retirement from Government Service.

Yes, a poetry community or a literary group enriches me in various ways of creation for my writing. 

Why poetry? Do you write fiction too?

I feel comfortable in writing poetry and when I see something that moves me I feel it and my mind gets reflection of it, as if it is like morning to start with, and I try to write down some words in poetry in prose format instantly.

http://asimkumarpaul.blogspot.in/2012/02/how-i-write-my-prose-poems.html

So far I have written two short stories.

Please share 3 to 5 blog links you enjoy reading most, give 1 or 2 sentences to tell why you love their creative process.

1. Marinela Reka

https://plus.google.com/101540045350233219731

She writes beautiful poems with poetic thoughts and elegance of life, in easy flowing of words. I like her poems.

2. Mark Williams

https://zenmirror.wordpress.com/

“……

………

…if our happiness is dependant on outcome

We are forever poor.”

It is a beautiful sentence of a poem, Forever Poor by Mark Williams. I love it

https://zenmirror.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/forever-poor/

3 Sheryl David Tanya Page Raun

“………

my father scolds me a lot,

my mother gets sick and hurt,

my opponents reminds me of her plot,

and I seem having an urge to be dead.

………………………………….”

I like these lines of a poem “my man refuses to see me in the eye”

 by Sheryl David Tanya Page Raun

http://bestwesternatmiddleeast.blogspot.in/2015/01/my-man-refuses-to-see-me-in-eye.html

4. Zongrik

http://zongrik.wordpress.com/

Poems of Zongrik are interesting with impressive images of life in using of words, a metaphor of life. I like her poems.

How do you know when a poem is done? your own experiences need to be shared here...

When I feel something or see something that moves me, I write my feeling and emotions right away, and I stop writing when telling of my feeling ends at a certain point of time.

http://asimkumarpaul.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/how-i-write-my-poem/

How do you decide when a poem is "good"? Do you redo your own poems after they’re posted? it could be poem someone else written...

When I feel good while reading a poem, I think it is a good poem.

Practically, I make changes a few of my poems, after these are posted, in my blog only when I feel the change is necessary.

It may be same topic of someone’s poems, but it cannot be the same in any way or in expression which is certainly be different from the poem that I have written. So one’s poem must be different in poetic style from other one’s poem, and my poem cannot be poem someone else written.

Do you think music and poetry are related? Why?

 Only I can say all words of music may be poems, but all poems are not music, because rhythm of poetry and that of music with lyrics are different on utterances, although sound and meaning are common in both music and poetry. It may be mentioned that sound or tune of a piano is only to hear.

What issues are closed to your heart? Women’s rights, child abuses, etc.…name one…

At present I have an issue on writing poems on the nature. My fifth book of poems goes on rain.

What’s your other hobbies besides writing? Do you have pets? Give us a picture if you own a pet.

 Besides writing, I spend some time with my little grandson, and then touring local places to see the nature and surroundings.

I have no pets.

Please list your blog links below, share 1 or 2 poems that represents best of your poetry talent…

THE RIVER, SUBARNAREKHA

This poem is written in celebrating Thursday poets Rally, Five Year Anniversary, Week 79, January 14 - 27, 2015, i.e. January 14, 2010 -January 14, 2015

http://asimkumarpaul.blogspot.in/2015/01/the-river-subarnarekha.html

In one winter morning this year,

I stand upon a make-shift wooden bridge

Upon the flowing of the river, Subarnarekha,

Sunlight sparkling on waters

Light-bubbles dancing,

Looping and pulling time and tide alongside.

Moving fast with bouncing waves,

Glittering episode of life just survives with joy

Sharing and glowing with great integration.

I come here sixty years later

Of my childhood, and that time I stood here,

Played with water and sand,

And childhood memories do not mess

With present happenings, all are going

With anchor and shore,

With distance and dream,

The river Subarnarekha flowing with gleam.

THIS ROAD

http://asimkumarpaul.blogspot.in/2015/01/this-road.html

 

This road across the river bed

Makes me remember

Time has passage

For livelihood

For home

With sequence of events

And this river

Turns into a stream,

Again in rainy season

It turns to a monster river.

I stand at one bank and other bank

Is visible as if it is

Parallel line far away

With pillars being constructed

For a long concrete bridge

Along breadth of the river

All objects and all shadows

Just make matter motto:

Cross the river, and reduced the distance

For journey we pertain everyday

For living in busy sprain

We are facing daily like

Nailing a wooden block                                       

For building a make- shift bridge

We are walking on time and again.

The Subarnarekha stays with life and time.

THE CRESCENT MOON

http://asimkumarpaul.blogspot.in/2014/04/the-crescent-moon.html

At the sun-set time,

My mind imparts with woes of life,

That begins with surgery

For removing stone

From kidney of my wife,

And after one month

Another surgery to be done

For extracting stone from her gallbladder,

And she bears pain

I grieve to her suffering.

My mind changes time to time,

As if some stones are solid with sadness,

I look at the evening sky,

The crescent moon glancing at me violently,

While it is cool with its black and white smiling,

Whispers of love cannot hold humors,

And we are toys of heavenly purposes.

Many times I tried to explain the situation,

Every time I feel loneliness, with pains for her.

She sits in a chair; I am the man on the doorway,

I cannot make her life comfortable,

Others are sitting at the other side of glass,

Thirty two years of married life move to a risk,

The crescent moon is changeable to a full moon,

We are not changeable like the moon,

Colors of the twilight sky may change to crimson red,

We are not hopeful for changes, again we are hopeful.

- Asim Kumar Paul, 29.01.2015