Time Moves Clockwise Only: An Antholoy of Maithili Poems by Dr. Rajanand Jha

The present collection of poems is brimmed with beauty and variety. Holy hearted readers and lovers would enjoy the panoramic view of life. I would like to reiterate that groomed under the poetic talent and irrigated with water of affection of Crest-Jewel Poet Pandit Kashikant Mishra ‘Madhup’, his own poetic talent adept in diffusing fragrance of similar imageries. His selection of theme is also in keeping with that of the Crest-Jewel Poet. Poetry lovers will have opportunity to enjoy consummate poetic personality of Rajanand. Nature’s fairy with her changing beauty blinks before poet’s transcendental eyes: most of the time in the form of full endearment and enchantment( occasionally harsh also but very rare) and makes the poet soar heavenwards and the poet feels like Wordsworth that if man looks into the soul of nature he could find divine bliss. The poet takes pantheistic view of nature. The romantic poets of English literature have clearly influenced his poetry on nature with a view point of both feelings and arts. Not only that, the readers may find some elegies groomed under Greek shadow in this anthology. The poet enlightens the readers and listeners in some of his poems like Keats and Shelley. There are also some poems which express poet’s anguish over contemporary problems and a few others which reveal poet’s optimism for life and world. Poems are, as in this case, a byproduct of mood. It is wonderful to see how deeply the poet feels; how much sincerely he posits his reaction on specific subject, situation and incident. This is the touchstone of blank verse and lyric. The influence of the romantic poets of English literature is conspicuous in his poetry of nature as viewed from the perspective of feelings and art. By and large, the readers would come across in this collection of more than hundred poems and such things in them that make him distinct from other contemporary poets and justifies his claim to fame. More than hundred poems of Shri Rajanand Jha, a noted Maithili poet, are available in this collection. He is passionately wanted by the audience in poets’ conference. His sweet poetic recitation is eagerly awaited by the audience. He was initiated into the world by the Crest-Jewel Poet, Kashi Kant Mishra Madhup1, so this poet is consummately infused with inspiration and influence of Madhup: rhythm, metre, quantity, decoration, tailor-made fluency, everything. There is a flood of poets writing poems today. In flood, crops are washed away but left with weeds, grasses and straws. In the deluge true poems are almost extinct and third rate poems raise their heads. New poets try to authenticate the axiom, “Poets are without fetters”. All the yardstick of poetry has been devastated. Idea, rhythm, metre, accent and prosodic discipline are on the verge of extinction, verse has become by and large free. Now the situation is such that poets take it a matter of pride to go against the established value and dignity of poetry. Even poetasters pose as poets. Specialty of Rajanand in this light is that even now he lays more emphasis on theme rather than prosody. But it is certain that his prosodic-discipline is not similar to that of ancient preceptors but self-configured which Prof. Anand Mishra has called ‘Concoction’ or ‘Mind’s Metre’. The new creation in metrical-arrangement of poetry is illustrative of the abundant originality. The poet has neither interest in debate and discussion nor in factionalism. He simply doesn’t like to potter under anybody. He thinks that the poem should be purely a poem. Why should it be given any new name? So his poetry is free from any classism and communalism etcetera and appeals to human sensibility.