Beginning with the multifaceted aspects of emergant themes of contemporary literature, this book offers a profound exploration of Subhrasankar Das’s craft and identity as a poet. It delves into his poetry collections—’An Anachronous Shower'(Insha Publication, Delhi), ‘Spastikchapa Phosphorus'(Akshar Prakashani), ‘Baul Molecules (Srot Prakashana), and ‘Tantukit'(Bhasha Prakashani)—from diverse critical perspectives. Beyond his poetry, the book examines Subhrasankar’s contributions as a translator and editor, highlighting his efforts to elevate Tripura’s literature onto the global stage. It also engages with broader themes in world literature, offering a rich tapestry of insights.
The contributors to this volume are not confined to analyzing Subhrasankar Das alone; they possess a remarkable ability to weave far-reaching and profound literary discussions, making this work a vibrant contribution to literary scholarship.
Who is this book for, and why is it worth collecting?
1. This book is essential for those who admire or critique Subhrasankar Das’s poetry, as well as those seeking to deepen their understanding of comparative literature or explore emerging trends in global literary discourse.
2. It offers a powerful lens through which to appreciate the myriad ways a poem can be interpreted and understood.
3. The scholarly essays in this collection, penned by distinguished contributors, are exclusive to this volume. To my knowledge, no other poet or writer from Tripura has been examined with such comprehensive and global scrutiny.
4. This book illuminates the extent, manner, and reasons behind Subhrasankar’s impact on prominent poets, critics, and academics worldwide.
5. It provides a valuable opportunity to reflect on and evaluate one’s own literary practice or research within the contemporary literary landscape.
This bilingual volume is enriched by contributions from an illustrious group of poets, writers, journalists, critics, professors, and researchers from diverse regions, including America, England, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Punjab, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Dhanbad, Kolkata, and Tripura. The initiative to compile and edit these writings was undertaken with remarkable dedication by Dr. Srabani Basu, a writer, international NLP trainer and an Associate Professor at S.R.M. University in Andhra Pradesh.
At the beginning, Pramila Arora, a veteran writer from Punjab, masterfully presents the changing landscape of world literature, poetry, and literary practice with metaphors and examples. Following this, she offers a detailed discussion of several of Subhrasankar Das’s English poems under the title “A shower of multiple dimensions of human nature and society.”
Rashmika Mandawala, a renowned young writer and translator from Sri Lanka, provides a brief overview of recent literary practices in Sri Lanka and then writes about Subhrasankar’s poetry in “A philosophical approach to the metaphysical prison of life.” Drawing from how the pandemic affected literature, society, and human psychology, Rashmika attempts to show how materialism, imprisonment, and the illusion of freedom are embedded in Subhrasankar’s poetry.
In two interviews—one with Rashmika and another with Tripura-based journalist/writer Nandita Dutta—the poet and translator Subhrasankar Das briefly highlights various aspects of literary practice in India and Tripura, as well as the finer details of his own writing.
According to Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, a famous poet and journalist from Egypt:
It is essential to find a key concept in reading poetry, a key that makes you able to filter words, phrases, themes and thoughts. In ‘An Anachronous Shower,’ a collection of verses by Subhrasankar Das, India, the Key was ‘Prison,’ in his short but evocative poem ‘Freedom’:
‘Every time I get freedom,
I discover myself in a prison,
smaller than the previous one!
American poet Dustin Pickering wrote:
My personal favorite poem from An Anachronous Shower is ‘The Perfumist.’ Set alongside ‘The Cat’ this Baudelairean image invokes transformations and language games in lines such as ‘a stranger had an encounter with a home. He transformed it into a house, then…into a hole…then into a void.’ Reading Subhrasankar Das’s poetry is challenging but rewarding as we meet with a poet who appreciates the laws of physics as much as the Vedas.
Professor Parthasarathi Gupta believes:
Sometimes, Subhrasankar’s snatches of phrases and stanzas strike the reader more than the complete poems themselves. ‘Every home has a fragrance’ rings through almost all the poems on home. The leitmotifs of home in the poems ‘Neighbour’ and ‘The Holes of Ventilator’ evocatively carry the same fragrance of home, but then, each time, home occupies a new subject-position, often becoming the silent onlooker, gazing lovingly, nostalgically or sometimes menacingly at his/her inhabitant. It is interesting to note how the poet switches from ‘her’ to ‘his’ with each shifting subject-position.
Ramakrishna Singh, a prominent poet and retired professor from Dhanbad, wrote:
“Subhrasankar Das writes with confidence, is internationally-minded, cosmopolitan, and concerned with existential as well as personal and broader world issues. His collection has a distinct bearing of his multifarious reading and exposure, with ironic echoes of content and style one may easily relate to.
In the words of Shantanu Chakraborty:
There is a very famous poem in the name of ‘Brahmahrakhsas’ by veteran Hindi poet Gajanan Madhab Muktibodh. The USP of that poem lies in the eponymous character itself who possesses a vast sphere of knowledge in himself but his knowledge does not come to any use just because he used to lack emotion and sensitivity, which always deserted himself from the ‘other.’ We the modernized human beings also carry with us a vast pool of information without emotions. It is urgent for us to fill up ourselves with sense and sensibility once again. Somehow in the poems of ‘Tantukit’ and ‘Baul Molecules’ by Subhrasankar Das the said lacuna can be found.
Joshua Bodhinetra wrote:
While reviewing a poet like Subhrasankar, one cannot help but comment on his essential multilingual approach towards writing and publishing. While this particular collection of poetry is purely in English, it’s vividly punctuated by Indian words, Indic ideas, subcontinental imageries and a thought-process that is multilingual deep inside. From the fisherfolks of ‘Zero’ to the garudas and yakshas in ‘Marbles,’ from the journey towards the supersoul in the flags of Moksha to the characters of Monira and Rafiqul in ‘Sticky Handprints.’ It is a multilingual journey, a meta-lingual journey, a subcontinental journey.
Others who have written about Subhrasankar’s English poetry include John Pappas, Nabaneeta Sengupta, Smita Sehgal, Shaibal Debbarma, Brajakumar Sarkar, and more.
The Bengali section of this book opens with a perceptive essay by Bimal Chakraborty, which traces the evolution and defining characteristics of 21st-century literature before delving into an insightful analysis of Subhrasankar Das’s Bengali poetry collections.
Biswanath Chakraborty takes a meticulous and in-depth approach, examining the works of Subhrasankar Das alongside other significant poets, offering a detailed and thoughtful exploration of their contributions.
Biswajit Deb’s review is incisive, concise, and imbued with philosophical depth, delivering a compelling and reflective critique.
The contributions by Mampi Chanda and Somen Chakraborty stand out for their exceptional craftsmanship and literary finesse.
Trishna Basak eloquently underscores Subhrasankar Das’s multifaceted talent as a poet, translator, and editor, noting the global acclaim he has garnered beyond the borders of his home state.
This book’s significance, its masterful use of metaphors, and other notable aspects were brilliantly highlighted in eloquent speeches delivered by Justice Subhasish Talapatra and the editor-writer Dr. Srabani Basu during the book’s inauguration ceremony.
This book also includes many of Subhrasankar’s published and unpublished poems which are special treat for the readers.
This book also features a selection of Subhrasankar Das’s published and unpublished poems, offering readers a delightful and exclusive literary experience.
The credit for so beautifully encapsulating the international reach of this Tripura-based poet must be given to the book’s editor and publisher.
