Interview
with K. V. Dominic
Dr.
Rohit Phutela
1.
RP: Could you name a few most influential
writers in your life?
British writers William
Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, John Milton, William Wordsworth, William
Blake, Charles Lamb, P. B. Shelley, John Keats, Robert Browning, Alfred Lord
Tennyson and Mathew Arnold, American poets Robert Frost and Emily Dickenson,
Indian Writers in English Rabindranath Tagore, M. K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Nissim
Ezekiel, R. K. Narayan and Jayanta Mahapatra are the writers I like most. My
poetry is mainly influenced by philosophers and philosophical writings. They
include the Buddha, Christ, Adi Sankara, Swami Vivekananda, Sree Narayana Guru,
The Mahabharata, The Ramayana, The Vedas, The Upanishads, The Bhagavat Gita
etc.
2.
RP: Can you give an introduction on the birth
of a poet in you?
I
started writing poetry seriously very late in my life, at the age of 48. The
reason why the poetic muse eluded me till I was forty-eight might be that my
life had gone smooth and comfortable without much itching of mind or arrows
struck into it. As Jayanta Mahapatra wrote, poetry comes out of a “bad heart”—a
heart that makes one turn secretly into a leader or a loser, pushing one to
choose values, attitudes and do the not-so-obvious things (Mahapatra, “Piercing
the Rocks: Silence to Poetry”). I do believe that I matured very late, at the
age of forty eight, to be able to choose values and impart them to my students
as well as to the readers of my poems. I could find that even though the world
is progressing materialistically at a rapid speed using modern science and
technology, spiritually or morally it is degenerating at the same speed. The
material progress is concentrated only on a single digit percent of the people and
the vast majority is exploited by this millionaire minority. The wealth of the
planet should be distributed evenly among its inhabitants—humans, non-humans
and plants. Exploitation of the vast
majority is visible in all fields of life—politics, religion, etc.
Administrators and political leaders of the nations as well as leaders of all
religions are exploiting the innocence and ignorance of the laity. I would like
to see a revolution or radical change in this world. I dream of a socialistic
world. Poetry seems to me the best medium to express my views and through my
poems I want to impart some messages to the readers. The more they read my
poems the happier I am.
3.
RP: What is the capital idea of your writings?
People
today are crazy after materialism, and divinity in them is being lost to such
an extent that they give no importance to principles, values, family and social
relations, cohabitance with human beings and other beings. Instead they are
trying their maximum to exploit their fellow beings, other beings and the
planet itself. If it goes like this, the total destruction is not far away. It
is the duty of the religious leaders, political leaders and the intelligentsia
to inject the lost values to the masses and thus preserve this planet and the
inhabitants from the imminent devastation. Instead, majority of these leaders
become mafias and inject communal and corruptive venom to the minds of the
masses. Corruption has become the hallmark of these leaders and influenced by
them the masses also deviate from the right track to the evil track. And who
will save this society? My answer is: writers, particularly poets who are like
prophets. The major theme of my poetry is the eternal relationship between Man,
Nature and God. Though baptized a Christian, I am primarily an Indian, and it
is my duty as a teacher and poet to instil Indian values to my students and
countrymen and also propagate these noble values to the rest of the world. I
believe in the concept of jeevatma and paramatma (individual soul and universal
soul) and that all living beings are part of paramatma or God. Again I believe
in the Indian concept of Aham Brahmasmi (I am the God). Advaita seems to me
more reasonable and acceptable than Dvaita. Thus I find the eternal affinity
between Man, Nature and God. Man is not given liberty to kill other beings nor
is he allowed to uproot plants and trees for his luxuries.
Disparities
in society, problems of the poor, the down-trodden, the marginalized and the
old, politics, terrorism, communalism, corruption and exploitation by political
parties and religions, description of Nature, multiculturalism, global warming,
conservation, horoscope, casteism, dignity of labour, child labour, poverty,
unemployment, environmental issues, celebration of man’s intelligence, skills
and selfless service for society are the main themes of my poetry.
4.
RP: Why independent India failed to produce
another Rabindranath Tagore?
Versatile geniuses like
Rabindranath Tagore are seldom born. We haven’t got another Shakespeare even
after four centuries. If you ask why India hasn’t got another Nobel laureate
for literature my answer is that there were no western promoters like W. B.
Yeats for any Indian writer after Tagore. I genuinely feel that there have been
many Indian writers, both in regional languages as well as English, who could
be awarded the Nobel.
5.
RP: Do the writers in India including you enjoy
the real freedom to create literary work
It’s a pity that we
have limited freedom of speech in India.
Though India is a democratic country one has to be very careful when one
writes. Unlike the western countries, religion has become a passion or weakness
to the people. In fact it exerts venomous influence in the minds of the people.
Reason gives way to blind faith which is much often superstitious. So a writer
has to be very vigilant when he writes on religious matters.
6.
RP: What is your opinion about web-journals and
magazines for poetry?
Web journals and
magazines give much opportunity for budding poets who can’t afford to get a
publisher for his printed volume. As
printing business has become less profitable and expensive, particularly for
creative works of less established and emerging writers, web journals and
magazines do a great service to vent out emotions and imaginations of such
writers.
7.
RP: How do you foresee the future of Indian
English writing?
Indian writing in
English has bright future. It has
become as competent as British, American, Canadian, Australian and African
Literature. We have already had four Booker prize winners. Indian English has
its own characteristics. Influences of Indian regional languages make it
distinct from other Eglishes. So Indian literature in English shall not be
compared with other English literatures. The real struggle for Indian
literature in English is from within the country. The government—both Central
and State—do not promote it as they promote vernacular literatures.
8.
RP: Absolutely. How does globalization affect poetry?
Globalisation is the offshoot
of capitalism or materialism. As
dissemination of ideas and culture across the world occurred as the result of
globalisation, poetry gained something. The poem one writes or the poetry book
one publishes goes to every nook and corner of the world within minutes is an
advantage poetry got from globalisation. But at the same time the spirit of
globalisation is material whereas that of poetry is spiritual. As an effect of
globalisation people become more money minded and selfish. So what they want to
read is not poetry which preaches noble values, ethics and spirituality, but
those books which are keys to comfortable and luxurious life.
9.
RP: What is your innovative poetic style? Give
example if any?
As
a poet, I am responsible to my own conscience and I want to convey an emotion
or a message often through social criticism. I have a commitment to my students
as a professor; to the reader, scholars and writers as an editor; and to all
human and non-human beings as a poet. I give priority to the content of a poem
than to the style of language. That is the reason why my poems lack much
imagery and other figures of speech. I am of opinion that poetry should be
digestible as short stories and novels are appealing to the ordinary laymen. I
adopt simple vocabulary and conversational style often in poetry, which again
attracts the ordinary readers. Here I am influenced much by the Victorian poet,
Robert Browning. Newspaper reports as well as features of actual incidents, tragedies,
role models in society, etc. I choose very often as subject matters for my
poetry. Thus social realism has been portrayed much in my poetry. I haven’t
come across any poet who has used such themes in abundance.
10. RP:
How has your life been different since
your books came out?
I have received dozens
of reviews and articles by eminent writers and critics on all my three poetry
books, Winged Reason, Write Son, Write and
Multicultural Symphony. Most of them
have been published in several international journals and edited books. An
edited book of critical/research papers on my poetry is being printed. Since
readers appreciate and welcome my poetry they want more from me and my
responsibility increases. Since I am also an editor of two international
journals as well as several books most of my time is devoted to writing and
editing.
11. RP: How
have the serene and striking environs of Kerala, your native land, shaped your
sensibility as a writer?
Kerala is God’s own
country with regards to its topography and to certain extent, climate. Rainy
season for nearly six months makes the State green forever. There are so many
rivers, brooks and lakes besides the Arabian Sea on the western side. The
Sahyas on the right side stands like a huge umbrella protecting the State from
intolerable heat and cause the clouds for rains. But I am not content of my
fellow beings here. They are trying to turn this heaven into a hell. The way
they exploit the nature and damage environment often irritates me. Though
literate, they play discordant notes to the symphony of nature. They are
belligerent among themselves dancing to the tunes of dirty politicians and
religious leaders. They have little love for non-human beings, plants and
environment. I was compelled to present a paper entitled “Kerala God’s Own
Country Turning to Devil’s Own Hell” in the SAARC literary festival at Agra in
2013. In fact my own people here make my mind bitter and aching to write so
many poems dealing with social criticism.
12. RP:
Do you believe that poetry can create
change in the world?
I believe that only
poetry can change and save this world. But the pity is that people have less
reading habit when visual media conquered the world. Again the reading public
is attracted to fiction which serves the likes of the contemporary mind. As
world is after materialism, fiction satisfies people’s needs rather than trying
to impart nobles values and thus try to save the humanity and the planet itself
from total destruction. Great poets and great poems are there but how can the
readers be attracted to them, is the question. How to survive in this world
competing with the friction writers is a great challenge for poets. Tastes of
the readers can be changed if publishers, academia and governments genuinely
try.
Dr. Rohit Phutela is an avid scholar of English literature with
a penchant for intensive research in English studies. He has to his credit more
than 40 research papers and books like
Indian Diaspora, Postcolonial Deliberations, Indian Contours, Communication
Skills II, The Narrative of Diaspora and Life Narratives in Literature under
his belt. He is Assistant Professor of English at DAV College, Sector 10,
Chandigarh, India.
