Yuyutsu Sharma Poem, "Annapurnas Revisited" in Kyoto Journal's 'Travel, Revisited' Special Issue

Annapurnas Revisited 

for Sukrity, Rachel and Alison

Lost a T- shirt

near a crystal waterfall

 

a notebook

with names of birds and shamans of the canyons

 

finches, larks and red billed coughs

swifts, lammergeyers, griffins and redstarts

 

my rainbow colored umbrella

with flowers and million butterflies trapped in it

 

one of the lens

of my looking glass in a pond at Hot springs

 

lost excess fat,

double chin, pouch of my belly,

 

drooling flesh of my cheekbones

lost worries of my city struggles

 

in the leech-greasy forests,

oak and maple, conifers and rhododendrons

 

threw a  copy of the bestseller

over the rusty bars of a squeaking wooden ridge

 

for the bearded goats

of the famed valleys to read and rejoice

 

lost fears

of finding right words

perfect dreams,

faultless partners along

 

narrow cliffside tracts

skirting utter horror of highest precipices

 

lost my unease

along with my troubled heart

 

to the glaciers

of Annapurnas…

 

 https://kyotojournal.org/product/kyoto-journal-issue-99-travel-revisited-digital/

Shivaratri, A Poem by Yuyutsu Sharma

Shivaratri, A Poem

by Yuyutsu Sharma

Ascending heated slope of a dream,

hash-infested ghats of childhood spent among ashen ascetics

faking to torture crystal of a body. The thrill of the famished Bihar workers dancing to lusty gyrations of a male dancer disguised as a Bollywood nymph. And I, a slothful drum of blood and memory looking for a Muse gone across the river to touch the tip of a celibate semi-nude cobra. And, I, a barrel of inertia, am left to ramble

on a Ghat where quietly

loneliness of a corpse burns. The smoke of the pyre clings to my upper lip

like some hooked spirit. To die on the eve of Shivaratri,

you call it luck? Is there any luck, at all, after your death?

Only some conch shell full of Gangotri waters, that's to wash my ashes away one day and pull away bat-faced wasps of decay sticking to the catastrophe of my ageing lips.

From Some Female Yeti and other Poems, Nirala, 1995, Reprint, 2018.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/8182500915?ref=myi_title_dp

Yuyutsu Sharma's new poem, "The Apparition" from Upcoming collection, God's Messy Workplace: The 2020 Poems

 

The Apparition

For my son, Yugank

 

Photo by Ravi Manandhar

So much hand washing, son,

scrubbing sanitizers with the fervor

of pouring sacred waters 

with such fanatic frenzy

that an elephant’s wrinkled face

starts surfacing along the jagged crusts of my pores.

 

Holding back the breath

in terror to keep the invisible enemy away,

piled-up fill of surgical masks in the trash-cans

of my trance, pyramids of gloom rising

in the  blind vaults of this world

where I’ve turned into an apparition.

 

Here on the edge of the earth

standing next to the fractured glaciers

ready to explode any moment,

from the valleys of muted deities,

I can only speak through you,

I cannot touch you, feel your breath,

tousle your hair, or smell sweet odor

of your handsome head.

 

Being so far away from you,

and much to your annoyance,

over and over again eager

to return to my instructions —

fear everything around you,

keep a safe distance, don’t be complacent,

fear door knobs, street vendors from Preer Vihar, Laxmi Nagar, Khureji,

milkmen from the capital’s bordering villages,

tin foods you bring from Khurana Store,

groceries you unpack along the rumors,

carry a portable hand sanitizer,

let it dangle from your waist like a weapon in a battlefield.

 

These quick words of caution,

ash-smeared antics from the swirl

of my years on this earth,

these mantras that my Grandpa gave me

foreseeing the calamity decades ago,

the lessons I received in the 60s,

four decades after the First Pandemic.

“Come home,” he’d said, “wash your hands

and feet at the water pump in the courtyard,

clean your mouth with fresh water,

chew a herbal twig to freshen it;

your breath might get polluted from others in public spaces.”

 

I didn’t quite understand his words--

how could anyone get polluted in public places,

didn’t notice anything nasty in our quiet Punjabi town,

airs cool and crisp, skies azure blue

in the land of bluest rivers in the world.

 

I didn’t approve of his rigorous rituals

when he made me wash my hands thrice

with ash from our hearth.

“It’s pure gold,” he said, “ash,

nothing purer than ash.”

His white starched turban

stiff over his head, his gruff gurgle;

I saw his Adam’s apple dilate,

a little bird of wisdom trapped in his throat.

 

In our Messenger chats, son,

I notice your hair have grown long,

covering your forehead.

In your voice messages,

I see an anxiety pouring in

from the rouge metropolis,

Last night, I dreamt a tiny ball

of dirt roll out of your left ear,

and you cried out in pain,

my little prince trapped

in a fort of filth.

 

I hope you remember your Papa,

like I remember my Grandpa today,

someone who loved me,

with a heart purer than his gold ash.

 

I see you all alone in the apartment, 

your video games that took you away from me,

now you dream to see the real world,

tangible people, busy parks,

ports squawking from seagulls,

snow ranges, mule paths littered

with spring flowers and million butterflies.

 

But locked down here,

I am only an apparition in Kathmandu,

not a valid figure of flesh and sturdy bones.

My blood cannot throb to warm your anxious sleep,

I cannot touch you or reach out to you,

being miles away from you.

I cannot take you to Connaught Place,

to your favorite cafes, or bring you to the bustle

of your favorite Squares at Nehru Place,

Karol Bag, Chandani Chowk, Janpath. 

Or bring you back to the Himalayas,

to our luxuriant canyons to make you race around

the glaciers, to sweeten your breath in our dreams

from the forests of rhododendrons, making you

sing along the chorus of summer cicadas

to fill your youthful vessel

with the quiet sheen of our eternal snow.

 

From Upcoming book, God's Messy Workplace: The 2020 Poems

 

 

Bishwa Sigdel reviews Yuyutsu Sharma's new collection, "Panaharu Khalichchan" in Nepal's leading newspaper, Kantipur

 

पहाडको अर्थ खोज्दै

-विश्व सिग्देल

मसँग प्रत्येक पानाहरू सुन्दर कविताले भरिएका ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ नामको युयुत्सु आर.डी शर्माको कविता सङ्ग्रह अगाडि छ । हामी मानिससँग हिँड्दा हिँड्दै कहिल्यै नसकिने बाटो हुन्छ । खाँदा–खाँदै कहिल्यै नसकिने खाने क्रम हुन्छ । लाउँदा–लाउँदै नसकिने लुगाहरूको फेहरिस्त, गाउँदा–गाउँदै नसकिने जीवन गीत अनि लेख्दा–लेख्दै नसकिने खाली पानाहरूको थाक हुन्छ । अर्थपूर्ण सङ्गति खोज्दा खोज्दै ती पानाहरू खाली नै रहन पुग्छन् । एउटा सग्लो दर्शन ‘कथ्य कायाकल्प’का अभियन्तामध्येका एक युयुत्सु यसरी कवितामा व्यक्त गर्छन् । वर्तमानलाई उनी कठिन घडी नभनेरै ती कठिनताहरू आफ्ना कविताहरूमा पस्कन्छन् । हामीले भोगेका आरोह–अवरोह अनि हाम्रा भनाइ र गराइको बेमेलले गोडमेल गरेका भग्न मान्यताहरू पस्कन्छन् । कविता साधनामा दिन–रात ध्यानमग्न एउटा मिलरेपा फुत्त निस्कन्छ तार्के घ्याङ तलको ‘मिलरेपा गुफा’बाट र छरिन्छ हावाले देबदारका हाँगामा अडिएको हिउँ भुइँ झारेर छरेजस्तै ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ भित्र ।

सम्झन पुग्छु, असिन पसिन भएर सेर्माथानको उकालो उक्लिरहँदाको त्यो पहाडी बाटो, त्यहाँको रोगनविनाको जनजीवन, त्यहाँका रूख, पात पतिङ्गर, चरा चुरुङ्गीको कलरव अनि खस्रुको काँडे पातजस्तै विभिन्न दिशामा छिरलिएका युयुत्सुका जिज्ञासा ! छेवैको हिमाली खोलोजस्तै अविरल उनको त्यस भूभागसँग टम्म मिसिने इच्छाले उब्जाएका प्रश्नहरूको बहाब । त्यस समय मेरो ज्यान अलिक छरितो थियो । म अगाडि अगाडि थिएँ । उनको प्रश्नले मलाई पछाडि पछाडि तान्थ्यो र हामी दुबैको गति कम हुन्थ्यो । उनको जिज्ञासा र जिज्ञासाले उनीभित्र उम्रिएको बृहत् ज्ञान हामी उनका कविताभरि देख्न सक्छौँ । स्थानीय बिम्ब र रैथाने प्रतीकले उनका कविता अलग्गै बन्न पुगेका छन् । उनी खच्चरको पुच्छर निमोठ्दै अन्नपूर्ण सर्किट जाउन् वा न्यूयोर्क । जुन ठाउँमा उनी पुग्छन् । ती ठाउँहरूका ढुकढुकी उनी छाम्न पुग्छन् ।

कवि युयुत्सु यस अर्थमा पनि मलाई प्रिय लाग्छन् कि उनी आफ्नो कवि कर्मका कारण आफूलाई हीन मानेर ‘म उपन्यास लेख्दै छु’ भन्नुमा गर्व गर्ने कविहरूको जमातभित्र पर्दैनन् । नौवटा काव्यकृति र कविताको पत्रिका ‘प्रतीक’ले उनको काव्य साधनालाई उजागर गर्छ । उनी हाम्रा लवजहरूलाई तात्तातै उठाउँछन् र तिनीहरूसँग कुराकानी गर्न थाल्छन् । कविको आरनमा तब चल्छन् खलाँती, घन, छिना र अन्त्यमा साँध लगाएपछि ती कविता बन्छन् । लक्ष्मी लेकाली हुन् वा गोपालप्रसाद रिमाल युयुत्सुको आरनमा पाइन चढेपछि नयाँ बिम्ब र प्रतीकहरूले उनीहरूका कथा बोल्छन्–व्यथा बोल्छन् ।

पहाडको अर्थ खोज्ने जमर्कोमा आफैँ पहाड हुन रमाइरहेका देखिन्छन् युयुत्सु । हिमालको अर्थ खोज्न अग्लिने र पग्लिने लगातार भइरहन्छन् उनी । खच्चरहरूका खुरहरूबाट उडेको धुलो र फुर्वाको शेर्पा भान्छाघरबाट पुत्ताइरहेको धुवाँमा रङमङिएको तस्वीर उनी उन्दछन् आफ्ना कविताहरूमा । शेर्पिनी आमाको आतिथ्यको सबभन्दा गहिरो निद्रा सुतेपछि येशुको क्रस ओसारीरहेको बुढी हजुरआमाको कमजोर ढाड उनी अनुभव गर्न पुग्छन् । शिखरको उर्जाले बोकिरहेको खोँचहरूको अवसाद लुक्दैनन् उनका कवि मस्तिष्कबाट । उनी लुङ्दर भैदिन्छन् – फर्फराउँछन्, उनी देउरालीका ढुङ्गा भैदिन्छन् – कसैको हृदयले चढाउँदै जान्छन् – थिचिन्छन्, उनी हिमाली खोला भैदिन्छन् – काँचो गीत प्रकृतिको गाई हिँड्छन् । तिब्बती लामाको मन्त्रको कर्णप्रिय ध्वनीजस्तै उनका कविता बिम्ब र प्रतीकहरूमा उनीन्छन् र प्रस्तुत हुन्छन् । उनी कतै बोधगम्य कतै हाम्रो मनजस्तै अबोधगम्य बन्छन् ।

‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ सङ्ग्रहभित्र भाग एक, दुई, तीन र चार गरी भिन्न कालक्रममा लेखिएका कविताहरू छन् । ( यी कविता पढ्दा मैले यस्तो मानेँ । हुन सक्छ कविले कविताले बोकेका ओजका/ विषयवस्तुका आधारमा छुट्याएका हुन् । भाग एकमा उनले पहाडको अर्थ उपशीर्षक दिँदै १६ वटा कविता पस्किएका छन् । कविले यी कविताहरूमा अग्रज नेपाली कविलाई नमन गरेका छन्, जसले संघर्षको एउटा गोरेटो कोरेका थिए । विश्वले नेपाललाई हेर्ने आँखामा बुद्ध र लुम्बिनी कसरी अङ्कित हुन्छ र तिनीहरूको वर्तमान मूल्य विघटनको कथा उनले यी कविताहरूमा उनेका छन् । क्षय हुँदै गरेको संस्कृति, खिया लाग्दै गरेको संस्कार र वर्तमानका धपेडीहरूले गुम्स्याएका दुर्घटित यौनको पाटोमा उनले नेपाली समाजको चित्रण गरेका छन् । जसमा गरिबी, भोक र करुणाको शृङ्खला अटुट देखिन्छ । फ्रायडेली यौन बिम्बलाई खेलाउँदै हाम्रो मगजको फोहरलाई प्रकाश पार्ने काम केही कविताहरूमा भएको देखिन्छ भने केही कवितामा पहाडको अर्थ पर्गेल्ने कविका शब्द सामर्थ्यले टक्क रोकिदिन्छ यसरी कि आमाका सपनाहरूमा आमाहरू यथार्थसँग पौँठाजोरी खेल्दै सपना देख्न हौस्याउँछन् छोराहरूलाई ।

आमाका शब्दहरू

मेरो पिरो स्तब्ध मुटुको सतहमा

बिस्तारै खस्छन्

खच्चरहरू उपशीर्षकमा उनका आठवटा कविताहरू रहेका छन् । वर्षेनी हजारौँ पर्यटकहरूको आकर्षणको केन्द्रविन्दु रहेको अन्नपूर्ण सर्किटको जीवन्त वर्णन यी कविताहरूमा पाइन्छ । खच्चरका घाँटीको घण्टीले पहिल्याउने बाटो पछ्याउँदै कवि उँभो लाग्छन् । नीला नदीहरू, ढुङ्गाका डङ्गुर मानौँ एक–एक बुद्धका वाणीहरू कुँदिएका अक्षरहरू छरिएजस्तै, हावामा फर्फराइरहने लुङ्दरहरू, कुइराले छोपेको हिमाली भेगका झुप्राहरू र त्यहाँका जीवन उनी टपक्क टिप्छन् । आधुनिकता र विश्वव्यापीकरणको दाह्रा र नङ्ग्राले गाँज्दै गएको हाम्रो पहाडको चित्रको कोलाज उनी पस्कन्छन् । तेस्रो भागमा फुर्वाको यार्लिङ नाम दिएर उनले लाङटाङ–गोसाईँकुण्डको पदयात्राका विविध रङहरूलाई समेटेका छन् । हिमाली संस्कृति, जनजीवन र मिथकलाई उनले आफ्ना कविताहरूमा सुन्दर ढङ्गले प्रस्तुत गरेका छन् । कलात्मक प्रस्तुति र बिम्बात्मक भाषले काव्य रस हिमाली झरना झैँ उनका यी कवितामा झर्छन् । खच्चरका घाँटीका घण्टीले पहिल्याएको गोरेटो छिचोल्दै कवि हिमाल पढ्छन्, पहाड पढ्छन् र पढ्छन् टाकुराहरूले छोपेको उपत्यका ।

उँघिरहेको उपत्यका

तारै ताराले भरिएका आकासहरूले चिनेका छन्

तिनका गोप्य पसिनाका चस्स दुखाइहरू

माने चिन्ने हातहरू र धुरिबलो उठाउने जब्बर काँधमा युगौँदेखि थामेर येशुको क्रस उँभो उक्लिरहेकी बुढी हजुरआमासँग कविको जम्काभेट हुन्छ ।

चामलका

दुईटा बोरा बोकिएको

बुढी हजुरआमाको कमजोर ढाडमाथि

हिँडिरहेको एउटा घाइते गोव्रे किरा !

वर्षको आधाआधी कविता पाठ, लेखन कार्यशाला आदिका लागि विदेशमै बिताउने युयुत्सुले सङ्ग्रहको भाग चारमा ह्विटम्यानकी छोरी उपशीर्षक दिएर एघारवटा कविता पस्केका छन् । उनका यी कविताहरूमा पश्चिम समाजको चित्र पाइन्छन् तर त्यो पश्चिमा समाजलाई कवि पूर्वीय बिम्ब, प्रतीक र मिथकहरूको साहारा लिई चित्रण गर्छन् । हाम्रो भन्दा बिल्कुल भिन्न परिवेशलाई पनि कविले लेखकका आँखाले नापजोख गरिहाल्न भ्याउँछन् र जीवन्त प्रस्तुत गर्छन् । पश्चिमाहरूको खुल्ला सोच, अग्ला भवन, रङ्गीचङ्गी बजारको मात्र कवि कुरा गर्दैनन्, ती ठाउँमा भूमिगत मार्ग र ट्युब स्टेसनमा रहेका मागेर गुजारा चलाउनेका कथा पनि उनी बिर्सँदैनन् । मान्छेका पीडाका रूप मात्र फरक तर पीडा, व्यथाको फेहरिस्त टिप्न उनी सफल देखिन्छन् । यस भाग चारमा पश्चिमा दार्शनिक फ्रायड अलिक अधिक हावी भएको प्रतीत हुन्छ । उदाक्त र फुक्काफल मात्र छैनन् ‘ह्वीटम्यानकी छोरी’ का दैनन्दिनी । त्यहाँभित्र कैयन वर्षको कठोर समयका फोसिलहरू पनि छन् ।

किन किन यो नगर देखेर

म ती प्राचीन घाटहरू सम्झन्छु

जहाँ महाभारतमा लडेका

योद्धाहरूका जिउका ससाना टुक्राहरू

सोहोरिएका थिए एउटा ठूलो थुप्रोमा

र बालिएको थियो

एक मुष्ट !

कवि मित्र आर.के अदिप्त गिरीको सुन्दर आवरण तस्वीरमा सजिएको ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ कवितासङ्ग्रह युयुत्सु आर.डी शर्माको पछिल्लो कविता कृति हो, जसले हिमाली संस्कृति, नेपालका विविध जातजातिको मिथकदेखि लिएर पश्चिमा संस्कृति र सभ्यताको उकाली ओरालीलाई सम्बोधन गरेको छ । काव्यात्मक भाषा, छरिता पद, पदावली मौलिक बिम्ब र प्रतीकका कारण भुराहारुले पिप्लामेट मुखमा राख्दा निरन्तर रसाएझैँ काव्यको आनन्द लिन विशिष्ट पाठकहरू सफल हुन्छन् । यो लेखकको शक्ति हो भने सामान्य पाठकहरूलाई अर्थबोध गर्न यिनै कारणले रोक्छन् । सुन्दर कविताका लागि उपयुक्त मानिने भएता पनि सामान्य पाठकले वाक्यात्मक संरचनाका अवयव खुट्याउन हम्मे पर्ने भएकाले यस सङ्ग्रहका कविताहरू क्लिष्ट मान्ने देखिन्छ ।

कवितामा निरन्तर कलम चलाउँदै रातो दिन कविताको चिन्तन मननमा समय खर्चने युयुत्सुको ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ नेपाली साहित्यलाई एउटा गतिलो उपहार मान्न सकिन्छ । गुलाफ मन पराउनेहरूले गुलाफ खोज्नु स्वभाविक हो तर गुलाफ बाहेकका फूललाई फूल नै होइन भन्ने परिपाटी नेपाली साहित्यमा झाँगिएको छ । यो आग्रह–पूर्वाग्रहलाई त्यागेर नेपाली साहित्यलाई पढ्नु र पर्गेल्नु आजको आवश्यकता हो । युयुत्सु आर.डी शर्माको ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ यस्तै स्वस्थ समीक्षाको लायक कृति हो

Yuyutsu Sharma to read at HRH International Poetry Festival, South Africa

Yuyutsu Sharma to read at HRH International Poetry Festival reading on 8 Dec, 2020, 6.00 pm South African Time Zone with poets from around the world: Delah Dube, Zimbabwe, Monde Komsana, South Africa, Andiphe Mangaza, South Africa, Tinashe Tafirenyika, HRH International Poetry Festival Zimbabwe, Thuli Mashazi, South Africa, Irina Henriquez, Colombia, Negma Coy, Guatemala, Zheng Xiaoqiong, China, Graham Mort, United Kingdom

Hosted by Jami Proctor-Xu & Malibongwe Mgaga

Upcoming Pratik Special International Online Reading on Sunday, 22 Nov

 Upcoming Pratik Special International Online Reading on Sunday, 22 Nov, 12 noon Pacific/3pm Eastern/8pm Irish/UK with Zoom link to register:

https://us02web.zoom.us/.../upAsdeCppzooHNGdbeDjFUZ16FX5m...

(Zoom Poetry Studio opens at 11:30am Pacific/2:30pm Eastern for readers; attendees will be in waiting room until closer to reading which begins at 12 noon Pacific/3pm Eastern/8pm Irish/UK

Join Cultivating Voices host Sandy Yannone as we welcome Himalayan Poet Yuyutsu RD Sharma, editor of Pratik: A Magazine of Contemporary Writing, for a reading to celebrate the Fall 2020 issue with current and past contributors.

Zoom Link to register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/.../upAsdeCppzooHNGdbeDjFUZ16FX5m...
(Zoom Poetry Studio opens at 11:30am Pacific/2:30pm Eastern for readers; attendees will be in waiting room until closer to reading which begins at 12 noon Pacific/3pm Eastern/8pm Irish/UK

Pratik is a purely non-profit quarterly literary publication and is published by White Lotus Book Shop, Kathmandu.

SELECT PRATIK POETS TO READ AT THE EVENT ARE

Charles Bernstein
Tony Barnstone
Chard DeNiord
Grant Hier
Yuyutsu Sharma
Jill Hoffman
Kerrin McCadden,
Bill Wolak
Judith Mok
Gerard Beirne 

Sydney Lea
Cleopatra Mathis
Suzanne Lummis
Flaminia Cruciani
Patricia Carragon
Seymour Mayne
Gloria Mindock
Chuck Joy
Margaret Saine
Howard Pflanzer

Highlights of the Current Issue:
Art, Poetry and Music collaboration;
Dreams of a Sleeping World;
Art of Oscar Oiwa;
Plus an interview with Hollywood Musician Chad Cannon

EIGHT POETS FROM VERMONT:
Chard deNiord David Huddle Tony Whedon Major Jackson Cleopatra Mathis Joan Aleshire Kerrin McCadden Karin Gottshall Sydney Lea

DAVID B. AUSTELL
Marshaling the Milliards
A tribute to Harlem Renaissance Hero, James Weldon Johnson

Four Poets from Nicaragua
Ernesto Cardenal, Rubén Darío, Salomón de la Selva, Joaquín Pasos

A SHEAF OF OTTAWA POEMS
Shai Ben-Shalom, Seymour Mayne Nicola Vulpe, Betty Warrington-Kearsley, Erwin Wiens

ELEVEN ITALIAN POETS
Claudia Russo, Flaminia Cruciani,
Rita Stanzione, Zairo Ferrante,
Paolo Staglianò, Antonello Airò,
Cinzia Marulli, Gabriella Becherelli, Vittorio Fioravanti Grasso,
Antonio Blund, Adriana Scanferla

Featuring
DAVID AXELROD
CHARLES BERNSTEIN
JILL HOFFMAN
BILL WOLAK
MIKE GRAVES
PATRICIA CARRAGON

Plus New Work by GLORIA MINDOCK
& HOWARD PFLANZER

Afterlife: Two Poems by H.K. KAUL (1941-2020)

Now available on Amazon USA, UK, Canada and India, Links below:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GZ23NSG?ref=myi_title_dp
Amazon UK:https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08GZ23NSG?ref=myi_title_dp
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08GZ23NSG?ref=myi_title_dp
Amazon INDIA; https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08GZ23NSG?ref=myi_title_dpUS

Upcoming Cultivating Voices LIVE Poetry Events (All Sundays at 12 Noon Pacific):

November 29th:
New Books Showcase with Jan Beatty, Don Krieger, and Lauren Russell

December 6th:
LIVE Poetry Open Mic
(8 readers - 10 minutes each)
sign up begins Thursday, Dec 3rd at 12 Noon Pacific until filled 

See less

My daughter, Sukrity Sharma's interview in The Irish Times.

 

‘I actually didn’t know Ireland existed. But I read about it and knew it was perfect for me’

New to the Parish: Sukrity Sharma arrived from Nepal in 2019

about 8 hours ago

Sorcha Pollak

0

Sukrity Sharma moved to Ireland a year ago to study for a masters in journalism. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

 

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When asked what attracted her to study in Ireland, Sukrity Sharma answers without a moment’s hesitation. The books, the poetry and the playwrights, she replies. “Famous writers like Yeats, his poetry inspired me to come here. And Ireland had good opportunities for work and study, that’s why I came.”

The Nepalese student later reveals that it was, in fact, her father’s influence that led to her decision to move halfway around the globe to study journalism. The daughter of famous Nepalese-Indian poet Yuyutsu RD Sharma, who has travelled the world sharing his prose and poetry, Sharma says she felt drawn to follow in the footsteps of her father.

She recalls joining him on treks in the Himalayas where she watched him jot down words he would later read to international audiences. “I could see my father was always writing something. He is also a journalist and had written for lots of newspapers. It was him who suggested I come to Ireland, I actually didn’t know it existed. But when I read about this place and its poetry, I knew it was perfect for me.”

I was given the opportunity to go abroad and study; lots of women in Nepal never get that chance

Sharma had discovered, as she grew up, that women in her home country struggled to find career opportunities and develop their professional lives. “Nepal has always been a patriarchal society. Women are considered as wives and are not expected to work as much. Especially in remote areas, women are considered as objects of pleasure and seen as delicate. It’s very hard for a woman to reach a high post in Nepal, you have to fight your way there.”

Having worked with an NGO supporting women who are trafficked, Sharma was also conscious of the privileges she had in her own life. “I was given the opportunity to go abroad and study; lots of women in Nepal never get that chance. I hope to bring something back from my time in Ireland, to help empower women in Nepal.”

However, the reality of living in a strange country thousands of kilometres from loved ones was not quite what Sharma had imagined studying abroad would be like. She arrived in Dublin in September 2019 ready to embark on a year-long master’s in journalism and public relations from Griffith College. After a lifetime of living at home in Kathmandu with family, being in Dublin was not easy.

“In Nepal even adults live with their families, it’s not like western countries. It was my first experience of living alone, and that led to a lot of anxiety. I felt depressed and settling in was hard.”

After briefly staying with a Nepalese family, Sharma found a waitressing job to pay for rent in shared accommodation. She started questioning her decision to move to Ireland and cried herself to sleep each night.

“I felt like I was broken inside. I kept moving houses because the rent was so expensive. In one house, the tenant advertised the room against the will of the landlady and she then kicked me out. I was homeless for two days. It was difficult moving all the time, I was in complete breakdown, I was a mess. At the same time I had to keep going to college and do assignments and presentations. I lost all my self-confidence and felt completely useless.”

Sharma’s father advised her to stay strong, that possibilities would come her way, while a friend reminded her that everyone faced challenges when moving abroad. “She reminded me that crying wouldn’t solve anything, that everyone is facing problems and instead of crying I should find a solution.”

Sharma was working in a Spar deli when Covid-19 arrived in Ireland and briefly signed on to the Covid-19 payment in July after losing her job. At the time of this interview, which was before Level 5 restrictions came into effect, she was back working as a waitress in an Indian restaurant.

Having completed her master’s degree, Sharma started applying for journalism internships with Irish media companies, undeterred by the challenging climate she’s living through. “I think journalism is a very powerful medium; it gives you a voice. I’d also like to earn the money to bring my family here for a trip. I’ve always wanted to do that.”

In 2019 I regretted coming here. But I’ve learned so much and met new people and that helped me to be stronger

Having blogged about her experiences over the past year, she now plans to write a book about moving abroad as a young woman. “Through my experiences they can gain knowledge of how to live alone. For a person who is dependent on their family, all of a sudden you’re thrown into this big world with no one to help you. I don’t want people to get lost like I did.”

Living in Ireland has also helped the 29-year-old develop a new appreciation for her home country.

“Nepal is a small country but, from my point of view, it’s the most beautiful place in the world. The moment you land there you fall in love with the people and the environment. In Nepal we have Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, our religions live in harmony. India was ruled by the British but we were never ruled by a foreign power. That’s why we can live together. Now I always dream of going back to Nepal where I can properly start my own career.”

But for now, Sharma plans to stay and find work in Ireland. She admits she’s still struggling to settle in this country but has learned a lot over the past 14 months.

“In 2019 I regretted coming here. But I’ve learned so much and met new people and that helped me to be stronger. I’ve learned to be patient and work hard and to know you have to survive on your own. I recently had a bad break-up but I’m still strong and I’m determined to stay here.

“I want to prove to myself that I can do this. There are millions of people around the world like me suffering, I’m not a special person. Everyone has tough times but I’m tired of complaining. Actions speak louder than words.”

We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com. @newtotheparish

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/i-actually-didn-t-know-ireland-existed-but-i-read-about-it-and-knew-it-was-perfect-for-me-1.4387312

"Open, fearless & candid: The mantra to decode modern poetry," Yuyutsu Sharma Interview in London-based iGlobal magazine

iCommunity

Open, fearless & candid: The mantra to decode modern poetry

iGlobal Desk

Published on : 21 Oct, 2020 , 12:05 pm

In this series for ‘iGlobal’, UK-based writer and poet Yogesh Patel hand-picks some poets of pride from across the Global Indian diaspora to showcase their works and poetic journey.

In this edition, we meet Yuyutsu Sharma, who is a world-renowned Himalayan poet and translator and recipient of fellowships and grants including the Rockefeller Foundation; Ireland Literature Exchange; Trubar Foundation, Slovenia; the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature; and the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature.

He has published 10 poetry collections including, ‘The Second Buddha Walk’, ‘A Blizzard in my Bones: New York Poems’, ‘Quaking Cantos: Nepal Earthquake Poems’ and ‘Annapurna Poems’. Three books of his poetry, ‘Poemes de l’ Himalayas’, ‘Poemas de Los Himalayas’ and ‘Jezero Fewa & Konj’, have appeared in French, Spanish and Slovenian, respectively.

Half the year, he travels and reads all over the world and conducts Creative Writing workshops at various universities in North America and Europe but goes trekking in the Himalayas when back home on the Indian subcontinent. Currently, Yuyutsu Sharma is a visiting poet at Columbia University and edits ‘Pratik: A Quarterly Magazine of Contemporary Writing’.

Q: You are a Himalayan poet in the sense of not only the landscape you are one with but also in the leaps of your Himalayan intensity of poetry. Coming from Punjab, moving to Nepal and having a second home in the US, how have you preserved the incorruptibility of your contrasting and simultaneous existences?

A: Excellent question sketching my journey as a poet. Life has been brutal as well as kind to me. I was born in a small Punjabi town, Nakodar, and spent most of my early life with my mother there. My father from the Indian Himalayas worked as a welder in a small hillside town, Nangal Town Ship, where yearly during summer school break I would join him and visit a shrine of Naga Sadhus on the bank of river Satlej.

It’s in this Himalayan town I learnt elementary lessons in poetry and worldly wisdom. Later, as I moved to Nepal and taught at a university campus in a small hillside village, Bhimphedi, I rediscovered my connection with the mountains and poetry. It was my rebirth as a poet. My Punjabi blood and upbringing made me travel fearlessly, first to the remotest Himalayan for over a decade and later to Europe and North America.

During the later wanderings, I carried with me the treasures of silence I’d gathered in the Himalayas. The quiet ennobling life I lived there had ushered a new spring in my writing and made me win the hearts of countless readers I came across. It’s the silence of the snow peaks that has kept me going.

Q: As an editor and publisher exposed to a great range of poetry worldwide, in what context do you see it against your output and poetry being written elsewhere?

A: Indian devotional poet Kabir says, if you want to be a poet, first set your house on fire and come with me and be a poet. I used to teach at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, but one day quit my job to take the forbidden path Kabir talks of.

It was like walking on a razor’s edge in the beginning. It’s only in the West I mastered the art of what the Irish would call “singing for supper”. Each nation has its special historical background and life patterns to determine the content and scope of its literature. Over the years, I’ve learnt a great deal from each continent I’ve entered.

Since 2004, my recurrent visits to London have put me in touch with the verve of contemporary British verse and idiom, away from snooty bookish poetry in English that we are attuned to in our subcontinent. The spoken word circles of the British poetry energised my work. Editing a special British poetry issue of ‘Pratik’ with Pascale Petit made me explore the diversity of content and style in British poetry.

Later travelling to the Americas enriched lines of my poems. The grand landscape of North America has expanded my stanzas and their experiments with self, soul and individual freedom have further metamorphosed my vision as visible in my ‘Space Cake, Amsterdam’ and ‘A Blizzard in my Bones’.

Latin America has made me look inwards with a surreal eye and my African counterparts have shaped my urgency to utter the mantra of human dignity and equality, making me look at own demons from a fresher light.

Q: How would you advise readers to approach modern poetry; can you suggest any handles to allow a better grasp of the meanings kneaded in any poem?

A: To understand my work, I do not think they need any handles, only a pure heart. To approach modern poetry, I want my readers to be open, fearless and candid, shed academic trappings, expand their horizon, discard snobbery and respect the ones that have suffered get space and attention.

Like in India for long, the Indian English scene was monopolised by soft-nailed elites and smug bureaucrats. Now with the internet and freedom of communication and reach, there’s a chance for an average middle-class Indian like me to come forward and explore the opportunities hidden meticulously from the masses by our colonial cushions.

When the leading figures in Indian literature were striking deals with the Western counterparts, our forefathers were struggling to survive in India, getting acquainted with the idiocy of newer regimes of oppression.

Finally, a new India is rising to grab the laurels received in proxy by those close to colonial masters. Honestly, without democracy, education and internet, I wouldn’t have been able to step out of my hometown in Punjab, what to talk of becoming known worldwide as a Himalayan poet. If you stay cloistered in a prescribed world, nothing happens. Those who sleep, find nothing, as the Indian saying goes; only those who wake up will discover the treasures of life.

Yogesh Patel MBE runs Skylark Publications UK as well as the non-profit Word Masala Project to promote South Asian diaspora literature. He is the recipient of many awards, including as Poet of Honour at New York University in April 2019. By profession, he is a qualified optometrist and an accountant.

In this regular series for ‘iGlobal’, he will be profiling Global Indian poets from around the world.

*Register here for poetry sessions such as these and much, much more at DiwaliFest 2020.