Poetry takes time to evolve: Arvind K Mehrotra

Arvind K Mehrotra`s flowing beard and his deeply sensitive features make the artistic writer stand out in a crowd. The poet, well known for his internationally famous anthologies, made a very interesting observation at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival by stating, "There are a lot of similarities among Horace, Kabir and Tulsidas." In a brainstorming session, the poet charged up the audience by reading out extracts of his translations of old Prakrit love poems `Absent Traveller`.

Talking to Nabila Habib and Shivangi Singh, Mehrotra spoke on his forte poetry as well as his upcoming works and cinema. Q: What are the changing trends in poetry in recent times? Mehrotra: Poetry is one genre that doesn`t change rapidly. Unlike other literary genres, poetry trends take time to evolve and develop. Q: What are your upcoming works? Mehrotra: I have done translations of Kabir`s poetry and Marathi poet Arun Kolatkar`s works. Q: You are also the Head of the Department of English Poetry at Allahabad University. Please tell us about the modern day literature scholar? Mehrotra: Some of the students are immensely talented and they have the potential to eventually become great writers. Like yesteryears, contemporary scholars are also as sincere. Q: Which Indian English Writers do you admire? Mehrotra: I admired Arun Kolatkar, Amit Choudhary. I haven`t read much of the recent works of Amitav Ghosh, so can`t say about him now.Q: What do you think of Internet taking over the book? Mehrotra: Well, I think that will not happen. Yes, on Internet you read a variety of books, you download classic literature, books are freely available and you don`t have to go to a library to read. Just Google whatever you want and you will get it. But I prefer a book instead of a computer screen. You can`t lie down and read your favourite book on a Kindle. Besides, you don`t have to worry about charging your book! Q: Do you type or write your works? Mehrotra: I first scribble and then type it. I am more comfortable with paper and pen. Q: Do you watch Hindi films? Are you planning cinematic adaptation of your poetry? Mehrotra: Yes, I like films. Recently I watched `Kaminey`, I also liked `Khosla Ka Ghosla` and found `Johnny Gaddar` to be impressively slick. But no, there are no plans of cinematic adaptation of my works. Q: Do you think cinema is inferior to literature? Mehrotra: Well, one can`t say that because both are separate mediums of expression. The mediums cannot be compared or merged. They stand separate and are different branches of art. Q: Do you plan to write prose works or novel apart from poetry? Mehrotra: No, I will keep writing poems. I have no plans of taking up any other genre. Q: Why does poetry sound so much better when it is recited? Mehrotra: You see, poetry has emerged from an oral tradition. Poems were never written earlier they were recited impromptu. Later, poems were transcripted for record. Q: Would you please recite something for us? Mehrotra: (Smiling) Oh, I can`t manage an impromptu recital. Q: What is the idea behind keeping punctuations to a minimum in your works? Mehrotra: Well, it`s not deliberate. You may have read some pieces, which required minimum punctuation marks, but I do use punctuation marks whenever required.