Romanticism and realism have always been in conflict in literature and Hindi is no exception. Noted Hindi writer Vimal Kumar has showed this battle in his “Kya Tum Roshni Bankar Aaogi Aayra”. A book of poetry, it consists of 48 poems with love as the running theme.
Asked about the selection of the subject, Kumar said, “Love will always be the topic of concern for the humanity. I always search beauty in humanity through love poems. Moon continues to be the symbol of love. Even if we know for sure that it’s a satellite, it continues to foster emotions and feelings. Writers like me can frame them in words but surely I can say that even an IT person must feel something while looking at moon.”
“This time I have emphasised self exploration, transparency, dialogue and sharing through shades of grief and happiness. Society being materialistic always goes against love and relationships. Wealth, glamour and power are the main reasons of break ups,” Kumar added.
Asked if he relates somewhere to the person in the book, Kumar replied in positive. “There is always a self struggle between me as a writer and as human being. A writer or a poet always think deeply and find him connected to the topic. It is his inner frustrations and fights with inner soul that comes out on the piece of paper. To understand love is to be in love”.
Kumar has dedicated his poetry to ‘Aayra’, which means the divine lady in Arabic. Kumar said, “Love is something beyond the caste, creed, religion and colour. It is the first revolution in the world”.
Talking about the state of Hindi literature, Kumar said, “After globalisation Hindi literature is in crisis because higher education is imparted in English.”
