Books about mountains usually evoke a sense of wanderlust and serenity in readers that they would expect an impromptu trip to a hill station over a weekend. It is the feeling of glossing over the calm surface of a land, visiting spots endorsed for their natural beauty and renowned as tourist attractions. The audience here expects to look at these lands through the eyes of a traveller, the voyeuristic gaze that finds only beauty but not the struggle underlying this snowy exterior.
Guru T. Ladakhi, however, through his poems brings out the skeletons in the cold closets of places he belongs to, and has travelled to.
In his collection of poetry Monk on a Hill, Ladakhi divides his poems into sections: people, places, seasons, haikus and postscripts, meticulously fleshing out a narrative that is unafraid, loud and clear. He doesn’t take the easy way out with his poems, instead choosing to delve deeper into the heart of the mountains and bring out for readers pieces steeped in the fragrance of melting snow as much as it carries the stench of spilled blood. The very first poem, For Robin the Poet, makes it abundantly clear that he’s not one to shy away from harsh truths, choosing instead to ask questions that have echoed in the repressed corners of every poet’s mind:
Shit, grime, murder, mediocrity./How much more must a poet endure/and still keep faith aglow/in the dark lust-paved streets of his brain?
R.G Lyngdoh, writer and Vice Chancellor of Martin Luther Christian University, currently reading the book, says, “The collection has very personal poems which are poignant in nature. The poems are based on Ladakhi’s personal experiences — from family to places travelled like Ladakh, Kohima, etc.”
In the first section, aptly titled People, Ladakhi talks about the strife between pursuing dreams and falling into despair, trading a voyeur’s usual tone of judgement for an endearing voice that is pain-stricken and honest about the despair around him. His poems traverse a multitude of emotions, stemming from his ability to both feel and sympathise with the pathos of the people he talks about; from the ache of loss to the jubilance of victory. When talking about death, his voice remains sombre, but resolved, like that of a poet who has accepted death as an inevitability but isn’t afraid to shed tears when it does occur.
Departure, a poem that has been described as a sister’s lament at the loss of her brother, portrays this best:
In the wake of departure you have left/a mother battered by insomnia/clinging to the sheets you slept on,/and a father unhealed, grasping at shadows,/hoping to make amends./I reject your relentless absence.
In the section, titled Places, he delves into the intricacies of the land. His voice remains the same, honest and not scared to reveal truths about these places, but it also contains an aching depiction of nostalgia. These are places he has had a deep connection with, and has watched them change and weather trying times, as all lands must do.
In the short section titled Seasons, Ladakhi shows us the changing pictures of the year through his eyes. The poems here are rich in imagery, describing key aspects of the various seasons that hold special relevance to the poet, with a surprising playfulness. The poem about Monsoon, for example:
Two clouds walk with moist feet/over the shoulder of the opposite hill,/picking sunshine from the undergrowth.
Amidst honest confessions of the problems that plague the lands, he also finds the opportunity to romanticise. His poems in the final section, Postscript, are thus about love and longing, and are just as honest and open. He doesn’t flinch from letting his words depict the yearning of a lover, or the warmth of a friendship that has aged well with years of togetherness and alcohol.
Monk on the Hill is a collection that holds in its chest many precious moments and memories. It is a poetry book of a life lived, secrets shared; and pain, some healed and some that refuse to. To paint a picture so honest and grounded in reality, of places that have long been considered mere tourist attractions, is something Guru T. Ladakhi does well.
“Ladakhi is a friend of mine from Sikkim, a very talented poet. I would like to recommend this book to all,” says Lyngdoh.
Reading suggestions
for the week:
1.The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
2.Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
