IT is with a certain air of apprehension that I flick through the pages of Witchcraft. But the candid words hypnotise me as much as the smell of fresh print, and soon the 55 poems come to life. As much an explicit writer she is, Sharanya Manivannan is intrepid to disclose the emotions of her heart, an upfront result of the experiences drawn from the cultural charismas of the disparate worlds she has lived in. And her maiden work, Witchcraft stands as a gentle reminder of those 23 years of her life.
The poems read like a tapestry, encompassing the poems she penned when he was 16, to the ones as recent as last year, introducing one to the forthrightness of the female archetypal narration. "It's the result of seven years of production," says Sharanya. "And perhaps ten years of pre-production," quips the Chennai based Sri Lankan writer.
Witchcraft indubitably chronicles her life more than anything else. "The poems are a distillation of my thoughts. Most of them are intense. As a person, I like to laugh a lot but I’m also prone to melodrama," she says. Witty, intense, explicit, the transitions are unanticipated, but at the same time, unforced, boasting of stories of love, lust, longing and her Sri Lankan roots.
It was when she was seven that she started writing. "It was a rhyme,” recalls Sharanya. But long before that, even before she could read, she loved books, she says. "I just kept staring at them," says Sharanya. And when she was comfortable with the pen, she never thought twice before picking it up. "I was a lonely girl. The only roots I had was writing. My family moved to many countries. I changed schools and houses. The loneliness continued throughout my schooling as well," remembers the poet. But going by what is deemed - in the darkest hours come the best works, Sharanya’s literary skills bloomed. Writing a song everyday before the bell rang for the first hour at school, she immersed herself in the world of self expression. By 2006, she had a good cache of poems that she put together as a hand made collection called Iyarai. The structure was thus set for Witchcraft. Talking about the title of the book, she says, "Idiosyncratic women have been castrated and called witches. That's one reason why I decided to call the book Witchcraft," she says, adding that she is protected only because she writes in English. "My market is different. It's really difficult for Tamil poets to write out of the box," he says.
In the book, she demarcates three philosophies of life - the Iyari tradition of Mexico (it means heart memory), the Spanish Duendes (who believe that the power of the earth takes possession of a person) and the ancient Tamil concept of Ananku (which underlines the sacred power of the female body. "To me, they are all sources of personal magic," smiles Sharanya. Currently, the poet is working on a novel and a second set of poems. "It's difficult to publish poetry in India. No one reads them," she notes.
Being the granddaughter of a former MP, mayor and high commissioner of Sri Lanka, she says "I’m upset with the situation in Sri Lanka where the situation is now being used for political gains. I don’t believe in separatism," she signs off.
elizabeth@epmltd.com