The analysis of Indian Poetry in English through the Prism of Indian Poetics Kamala Das Manju Jaidka and Susheel Kumar Sharma

Abstract

newlineIndian poetry in English is a distinct genre in world literature; it has arrested the attention of practitioners and lovers of poetry because it projects what is typically Indian, be it patriarchal structure of society or taboos on sexuality or worship of the gods, goddesses ,rivers and many natural phenomena or the places of pilgrimage like Puri , Kashi and Vrindavan or the places of art, architecture and sculpture : Konark and Khajuraho or the rivers like Ganga , Jamuna and Saraswati or the flowers like Jasmine, Champak and so on . In Indian poetry in English a reader does not find the picture of the Thames flowing or daffodils blooming or London bridge falling down. Thus Indian poetry in English depicts what is typically Indian. Indian poetics refers to the theories of literary discourse, especially to the theories of poetry, expounded by the native geniuses like Bharata (the theory of Rasa, the aesthetic of emotion), Bhamah (the theory of Alamkara, the figures of speech), Jagannath and Anand Vardhana (the theory of Dhvani, suggestiveness), Kuntaka (the theory of Vakrokti, the artful expression), Kshemendra (the theory of Aucitya, propriety) and so on. Indeed, Indian poetics is an integral part of our legacy, it is full of insights and perceptions that have a power to bring out the aesthetic potential of a literary text. If a piece of literature is studied in the light of these theories the meaning gets revealed through right perception. Each theory of Indian poetics has its own distinctive features but what is common to all schools of thought in Indian poetics is intuitive perception of reality: temporal or transcendental. All these schools focus on appreciation rather than interpretation, aesthetic enjoyment rather than critical analysis. Hence the word experience is more appropriate than any other term like interpretation or analysis in context of Indian poetry.