HYDERABAD: A weeping Tiresias near a muddy river may not arrive in the modern wasteland, and to wait for a sightless prophet may sound too much to ask for. Such landscapes look even darkerwhen bombarded with urban cacophony resounding in poetry. But we can at least hope for the Utopian wish.
When poets like Jyothsna Phanija, who don’t have the blessing of sight, write poetry exhaling iridescent colours, we can at least have a summery dream though tossed far in time. This assistant professor of English Literature from Andhra, teaching at Delhi University, chirrups when you talk about turmeric and peacocks in her poems. She paints a vivid picture of the ceramic village, Kaikaluru where she hails from.
That’s how the title of her first poetry collection is ‘Ceramic Evening’. Its hard cover in bright colours and golden embossing announces the arrival of a fresh voice in Indian English poetry of our times. Excerpts from the
interview:
Why have you titled the book as ‘Ceramic Evening’?
(Smiles) It’s the title poem and has references to my village in Krishna district and River Krishna. This place is famous for Kalamkari art, Kondapally toys and ceramic cups. There are manufacturing units of ceramics there and many people from my village work in these factories. The designs are very beautiful. As a poet, evening is abstract for me. I just thought of an evening shaped as a ceramic cup. It just glazed in my mind.
At what age did you begin writing poetry?
I started early, at the age of 10. My mother used to write short stories. However, she doesn’t write anymore. She used to send her works to different journals and read Telugu novels to me. That’s how I was introduced to the world of literature and its phantasmagoria. Back then I used to write only in my mother tongue, Telugu. It was only during graduation that I began writing in English.
So, can we say your mother was your inspiration?
Actually, it was the teachers at Narsapur School who encouraged me. Till class V, Telugu was the language we studied in. English was introduced at a later stage. The teachers were very cooperative. They used to ask us to recite Sanskrit poems. That’s how I was introduced to the depths of poetry. Professors at English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) also helped me a lot.
You created a record in PhD…
I hold the record as the youngest person, at 25, to complete PhD in English Literature from an Indian university. I completed my MA in English Literature from EFLU, then I enrolled for PhD. I was among the top four in the entrance test. My work was on Post Colonial Women Writers. Earlier I studied in Braille, but later I switched to the software for visually challenged people called ‘Job Access With Speech’ (JAWS). It’s a screen reader and has been my lifeline for reading and writing.
How do you perceive colours? How do you describe them in your poems?
This comes from my experience in other fields. I just get a strange feeling. They come to my mind on their own as abstract forms. I also learn music, so you will see a lot of soft notes flowing through words. For example, if a rose has a voice and it says: ‘I am black’, then this is what I write. I tend to rephrase and rephrase my poems till I think it’s final.
How do you dissociate yourself from your poetry?
I do not write direct poems on visual impairment, I use slight metaphors. For example, the image ‘a disfigured kite’, in one my poems is an attempt to check if the readers focus on the word impairment or the kite. I want to be recognized with poetry more and not just my visual challenges.
Who has been your biggest support?
My husband Krishna is the one. If some day I do not write anything, he comes and asks me: ‘What have you written today?’ (Smiles) He takes me everywhere. Without him I couldn’t have completed my doctorate or written poetry. And yes, it’s an arranged marriage. After the loss of my father, he’s been there for every little thing.
What kind of poems are you writing these days?
I have been writing a lot of abstract
poems. I am thinking of writing more accessible poems.
How do you define your style?
Abstract. I don’t think about readers. I don’t let the impression: ‘What the reader will say’ touch my poems. I teach the same to my students at Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma (ARSD) College, New Delhi. I also write
fiction with different themes – mostly
women-centric stories.