Review of Mystical Musings of a Teen Age Girl. Poetess Promila Punnu Bhardwaj. Reviewer : Rajni Chhabra

 

Poetry: Mystical Musings of a Teen Girl

Poetess: Promila Punnu Bhardwaj

Hardbound Edition: Price: INR 295/- only

Publisher : Pacific Books International, N.Delhi

Reviewer : Rajni Chhabra

Bi-lingual Poetess Promila Punnu Bhardwaj had been penning her beautiful verses in her diary since her teen age, but due to limited time in hand, could not get them published till long. After retirement, she is involved with zest and zeal in writing books as well as unveiling her previous treasure.

The golden period of getting these verses published has ushered in now and she has presented it to voracious readers in the form of her maiden Anthology of Poems, ' Mystical Musings of a Teen Girl.'  Prior to it, she has contributed two Hindi Poetry Books ,' Swar Laehriyan' and ' Anjuri Bhar Aas' to the literary treasure of Hindi. 

The title, Mystical Musings of a Teen Girl' gives us a peep into the contents of  the Anthology of Poem. As the Poetess is endowed with mystical bend of mind, her poems are tinged with spiritualism and deep philosophy of  life. Deep perception in tranquil surroundings spontaneously flows in her poetry. She hails from charming, hilly Himachal Pradesh, which bestowed her with chance to enjoy and appreciate beauty of natural surroundings, its enchanting beauty and serenity. She had ample opportunities to enjoy bliss of nature, in a world in which there was no meddling of mobile phones, social media and internet. People had direct social interaction and basked in the coziness of affection and humane values. The vision  was blessed with serenity of the ambience amidst soothing beauty of nature.

Thoughtful Musings of a teen ager are simply astonishing in  this Anthology of 71 sublime poems. Generally, a teen age girl is more tempted towards glamour of world, its pomp and show, as she is passing through a phase of life, in which one falls in love with oneself glancing at own beautiful countenance in mirror; when days seem golden and nights star-studded silvery: she longs to enfold in her lap all the charming bounties of this world. But, the protagonist of this Anthology is quite a unique stuff tinged with Spirituality. She is more after human values as opposed to materialistic realities of life. 

These soulful poems tinged with innate depth of thought and resonant imagery are a treat for mind, capable of fetching solace and healing stressed minds of the voracious readers.

In the poem 'Silent Adventure', we are re acquainted with soothing charm and serenity of nature.

In the reign of serenity

Where bliss alone is visible

Where no desire ever arises

There live I quietly

And nowhere else can I

So happily, so beautifully 

As in the lap of lovely silence.

In the poem ' Beauty's Blessings', the poetess points out that we behold beauty of Nature only momentarily and afterwards turn away, ignoring hidden boons she holds and invites us to 

Hear her, hey! Near her, but never hurt

By remaining deprived of immense bliss

Beauty has in her treasure to embellish

Dull lives with joy by fulfilling every wish.

The poetess feels a deep concern over degeneration of moral values in human beings and expresses it in symbolic way

Mist is overshadowing worldly creation

Similar is the man's mental condition

Ignorance overpowers his moral sense

Just as vapours remain in air so dense.

She invites us to a treat for eyes , in her several poems 'See Splendour', Blushing Queen, Gifts of Nature, Queerly Pretty petals', 'Flower's Beauteous Net' etc. These poems spontaneously conjure the picturesque hills, deep seas, beauteous flowers, smiling petal, realms of greenery and glitter  our mind.

The poetess seems to be in quest of self -identification. through self introspection

In the poem Search the soul , she says

Only to search my own soul

Close I, sometimes my eyes

For finding fountain of beauteous love

Which my open eyes ignore.

One has to dive deep into each and every moment of life, to gain wisdom . it has to be a first-hand experience

Vivid experiences in life

Whether sweet or bitter

Make us always wiser

Enriching wisdom's treasure.

These verses are remarkable due to deep perception, expressed in simple, lucid language.

To see flowers blooming, thorns pick

Job of Guardian and with pointed swords 

Protect them from the mighty lords

Of nature---wind, storm and  many a bird.

The poetess finds some hidden message in each and every object, whether it be animate or inanimate. 

Twinkling light of lamp's image

Seems to give a useful message

Struggle and struggle really hard

Amid and against every odd.

Verse 'Relations ' emphatically points to lack of warmth in relations and hollowness that follows. Everybody is busily occupied in his own pursuits and has hardly any time to share woes of fellow-beings. Present scenario finds expression through these lines. A reflection on modern -day life, with its flawed characteristics is depicted in this verse.

Time is running and man after it

So much that, none has time to sit

Peacefully and try to evaluate 

The numerous gifts of maintaining 

Whole heartedly close relations

Each and every poem of this Anthology seems to speak in its own unmatchable way and is capable of leaving its deep mark on the mind of readers, providing feast for eyes and soul. These contemplative poems, bear a note of optimism, serenity and spiritualism. The joyous surroundings of nature are elaborately casting a soothing impact too and imagery used is unparalleled, creating a picturesque effect. She deploys symmetry and parallelism in her poems, while beading pearls in poetry.

Captivating Ink sketches in this Anthology  of poems add to its charm. Kudos to the artist!  The publisher deserves hearty applause for this unique publication ,'Mystical Musings of a Teen Age Girl'

I am sure, after going through this beautiful journey of letters, readers on global level will look forward to more poetry books from mighty pen of  Promila Punnu Bhardwaj. I heartily wish her more success in literary corridors.

Rajni Chhabra

Multi-lingual Poetess & Polyglot, Blogger

International Director 20 of World Union of Poets

e mail: rajni.numerologist @ gmail.com
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