Frozen by grief, Ravi mourns Raj, a kind poet and friend. Memories of their decade of shared poetry journeys now bring poignant pain, exclusively for Different Truths.
My heart is frozen with deep pain. It will be extremely difficult to defrost it soon. They say he was a good poet, a good human being, a humanitarian, a mentor, etc. His kindness and goodness shone in all of these …and his simplicity was overwhelming.
As I said in my online tribute to dear Raj, on Thursday (May 15), organised by Dr Jernail Singh Anand, on behalf of the International Academy of Ethics, I am yet to come to terms with the new situation of having to go on without the presence of dear Raj Babu. I feel another invitation will come to us soon for a poetry meet, and Raj will ring me up immediately to confirm that I am going so that he can make his travel plans accordingly!
I never thought I would talk like this about Raj Babu in the past. As poet Lily Swarn mentioned in her tribute, we were a good team, always together.
Oh, how many poetry meets have we attended together during the past ten years! Be it Bhatinda or Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh or Cochin, Bengaluru or Santiniketan, Vijayawada or Hyderabad, Mathura or Guntur, we were present in all weather, as poets of the same feather… And we were sharing rooms too. I have hundreds and hundreds of memories to cherish of him. Whenever I used to go outstation to attend any poetry meet, it was Raj Babu’s number I used to give to my wife for an emergency contact, and he did likewise.
Apart from his utter simplicity, what stands out prominently is his love for travel and exploring/experiencing unknown situations. His career in the airline industry, which was full of challenges, had steeled him to face any crisis calmly. Even last year, he was travelling from Hyderabad to Bhubaneshwar by car to attend the Rock Pebbles meet, and he called to join him. How I regret not having accompanied him then!
His love for the Telugu language (his mother tongue) was unique. He used to often regret not getting many chances to attend/organise Telugu Poetry meets.
He had his humble philosophy, which transcended caste, colour or creed. Why bother about money or fame, or materials? He would say. “Apan Kya leke janewale hai, yaar” [What will we carry with us (to the heavens), friend?], he would say often in Hindi.
About his poetry, the whole world knows he was able to carve a niche for himself in the genre of micro poetry. It was inspired by his micro poetry that I started writing my brand of ‘myku’ poems. ‘Chota chota kavitha likho yar, lamba kavitha padne kisko waqt hai’ he would say, in his style of Hindi. To respect his love for micro poetry, I shall continue writing my ‘myku’ till I join him on the other side.
I loved his micro poetry book titled “Beat”. I even wrote a blurb for it
Having known him for more than a decade, I found there was something offbeat about whatever Raj babu did and “Beat” was no exception. From the usage of a small ‘i’ throughout (including for his pen name ‘yathi’) to the economy of expressions encapsulated in pearls of wisdom, he was a standalone! His lines were patterned to play a different drumbeat. His unsaid words conveyed more than the written word! He loved to take the road not taken! ‘Beat’ is the heartbeat that pulsates rhythmically with life.
‘Bye, Raj,’ till we meet again!
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You were his closest aide in our poetry circles… and we would invariably contact the other if one were amiss. Your fine tribute, I know, is only a fraction of the heaviness you feel at his loss.
A perfect tribute and touching writeup to such an adorable gentleman and a fellow poet friend ‘Rajbabu Bro’ who is not with us now…
With prayers
Gopakumar Radhakrishnan