Today morning read the Malayalam translation of this poem - I want to die before you by Nazim Hikmet. I thought it was incredibly beautiful - of a lover thinking to stay near the loved one even as ash, mixing together even after death, sprouting together as flowers and yet not wanting to die and wanting to live longer together. The feeling of being in love, the flood of emotions as if the chest is going to burst and the silly promises lovers make to each other is (bitter)sweetly captured. I read that Nazim Hikmet was a Turkish poet, was in and out of jail and exile for most of his life for his political beliefs. Incidentally two days back my friends were talking about Erdogan turning Turkey less democratic, imprisoning thousands of artists, writers, free thinkers and were speculating if India could go that way if the ruling party gets two-thirds majority in both houses and can change constitution. Further back, this year, I read a novel, Snow, written by Turkish Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk which was about a poet who came out of political exile and taking a journalistic mission to a city which was a guise to reunite with his old sweetheart. Nice string of coincidences.
One more for today. During lunch someone was talking about people who walk around in their own world, lost in thought. People may think they are showing attitude by ignoring others. But I was thinking it is so difficult to get to know some people for years and same would be true of me - I wouldn't share my true thoughts, not trusting myself or others and it takes too long to trust. We did an exercise called Johari window in some training and I always come up as someone with more hidden area that others don't know about. Then in the evening I read this article about why we're fated to be lonely but that's ok. I wouldn't want to impose my strange thoughts on others, but that's ok. Nice coincidence to get explanations to questions so soon.
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