On a rather stressful day while I was grappling with serpentine queues at the local bank, travel plans and several such annoyances, Clouds End & Beyond — a collection of verse by Rajni Sekhri Sibal, a career bureaucrat and fine writer — arrived on my desk. Desperately in the hunt for distraction more than a reprieve, I did a quick look through and chanced upon one of the most enchanting poems I have ever read: ;’The Rising Sun’.
Perchance it was how I was feeling then. Perhaps it was that there was a realm of perception in that short poem. Maybe it was the innate compassion that shone through. All poetry is idiosyncratic and subjective yet it seemed as though the words spoke to me. Me alone.
It’s time to turn around
Break free of the shadows;
And with a fresh resolve,
Walk towards the rising sun.
If you are expecting a glossy, strictly lyrical, sophisticated, Shelley-like romanticism in both its extremes of joyous ecstasy and brooding despair, you will not find it in Rajni Sekhri Sibal’s Clouds End and beyond. Instead, in her debutant collection of poetry, the tenor is dreamy, the world she describes is largely set in the Mussoorie hills. It is reminiscent of the pleasures of walks in the hills, and she uncomplicated yet profound love for the natural world-mountains, rivers and the seasons.
Her writing is private, secret, unhurried, universal and simplistic. It never pretends to be otherwise. That’s the beauty of her poetry. And that unpretentiousness emerges as her strength. She corroborates this in her preface, “I have always penned down a few words for myself.”
Her poetry is essentially prose lines broken up and arranged in column format. In as much as anything that is written in a modern-day, colour-supplement-oriented weekend newspaper, her free verse without any formal architecture could pass off as poetry. But short of giving a bad name to modern poetry, it might disappoint a serious lover of verse.
However, her gentle, diary-like verse full of philosophical acceptance of hardships, love and affection will disarm the most vociferous critic. That she has the affection and zeal for life and things which are unadulterated despite what the market demands are noble and honourable. That’s the magic that her book yields.
There seems to be an idea going around that poetry must always be full of depth, going through many layers to present its case. Truth be told, poetry can be as simple and direct as the heart that writes it, thinks it and beats its words.
Rajni Sekhri Sibal’s collection of poetry, all written by the civil servant-poet over the course of many years is a fine combination of light verse for both adults and children. While all may not sparkle with the brilliance of ‘The Rising Sun’ or ‘Poignant Pain, there are also some remarkable poems with a marvellous insight into the powerful corridors of bureaucracy. ‘An Eternal Wait’ and ‘Plans & Processes’ lay threadbare the apathetic functioning of Indian bureaucracy upon which rests the prospects of a common man.
Unpretentious yet proficient and suffused with a longing for times gone by, Rajni Sibal’s verse is an open invitation for the reader into her imaginative and creative mind. I couldn’t help thinking of her with her wide smile and a glint in her eyes and an effortless ability to use old fashioned words like ‘Tranquil Smiles’ with a certain inimitable panache’. It reflects that much-forgotten art of subtle irony.
For all those people who say — ‘But I don’t understand poetry’ — Clouds End and Beyond is a perfect book of verse to cut your poetic teeth upon.
A delight to read, indeed.
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