BookRix

A poem of Protest


Ashok Aatreya’s “Innocent Anarchist”, is a poem of ‘protest from all fronts, revivifying the vedic motifs, detracting Pauranic Akhyans, questioning the judgment of the Dharmashtras and finally the long prevailing chaturyoga’s domination of the imperialistic rule of exploitation of the large section of people and suppression of the uprising mass protest.
Very much belonging to the traditional super-fluent sect of Tantra family Ashok remained a protester since birth. He has moved from one city to another like a nomad never settling anywhere throughout his career and did not cherish any tradition family value & virtue.
“From the day the golden egg came into existence to this day I have seen the wheel moving singing a song Charaiveti-Charaiveti..../for the edification of the masses in that relentless ethical war in meaningless struggle/as the duty bound postman delivers letters/as wounded soldier embraces the motherland when falls/… ‘‘Sorry- I was not a crusader...”.
Ashok is a maverick traveler hoping of a feel good factor but the situation is tragic-‘‘From the point of no return/this is the only spirited moment of a maverick traveler/When the entire crowd is busy with politicians and scrubbers of Democracy/when the scriptures and constitution are used as toilet papers/…..the feel good factor becomes a pittance of a poor man.’’….A proxy of the people/ even a traitorous activity/The vanguard losing faith of people/
The poet in Ashok’s long poems intimately feels this transformation in real sense as he writes-‘‘The brass colored beauty nothing to cover on bare bosoms / But a single flower of Mahua pinned/…They come with tags of Ernesto Che and Mao on their hearts”….and so on so forth, ultimately facing the stalk reality when he concludes his poem-‘‘Oh my mother, my son my daughter my wife my comrade/ Why you all were not aware of all this/Still singing songs in admiration/Perhaps you still waiting for the judgment day/Still believing in the stories of fish incarnation/Still assured that lord Shiva would appear again to kill Andhak to bring peace on earth/The Ganges would free sons of Sagar from the curse/’’.