Soul of a poet

Sensitivity of a butterfly

Adrian Khare

It is sometimes said that the interview is a flat format. This is merely a matter of perception. In the interview numerous details about the interviewee are brought out. Here talking to Adrian Khare a poet ,a literator, journalist, music lover and a "vagabond", Nirmala Bhuradia carefully pulls out the roots that have gone into his making.

When did you begin writing poetry ?

Well, it must have been around 1965-66 or thereabouts. Most of what I wrote at that time was Nature oriented...Naturally, I had yet to acquire depth and variety at the time.

Do you think poetry can be taught or poetry explained by a teacher ?

Taught by a teacher ? No, no. But explained, yes, provided the guide has the soul of a poet and the sensitivity of a butterfly. Otherwise, everyone will be trying to sail a boat on dry land.
Do you agree that a poet or an artist must have a Muse?

Yes. But the Muse need not necessarily be a person. It can be an inspiration powerful

enough to drive the artist\poet to create a piece of work. Personally speaking it is either Dylan Thomas and his Fern Hill or

Arthur Rimbaud and his Drunken Boat I would say that they are my "forever Muse". I would never say that one was an alcoholic and the other a *junkie*. And what about Neil Young?

You are a music lover and have interviewed a fine musician like Louis Banks...What have your impressions been of him and his music?

He is a humble man and has made his way through deep waters. This genius from Nepal owes his success to his father who would rap him on the knuckles while teaching him to play the piano. Banks has stood his own playing the biggest names in jazz. A keyboardist and pianist par excellence

You have also interviewed M.F.Husain...Can you say something of your interaction with him ?
I believe Mr. Husain is as much of a showman as he is an artist. I was

working with the tabloid BLITZ at the time and he insisted on greeting me that Indian way, with a 'namaste'. It seemed rather odd for a man who had incensed so many Indians by depicting deities in the nude. There seems no limit to what Husain was painting .

Husain has a lot to say in his other paintings, not so for Pritish Nandy. There was a time when he turned out paintings not

without zest. He’s made a niche for himself in the film world and is preoccupied with his image. When this happens, the artist dies. But there is one exhibition when Nandy worked with Samir Mondal. It was Mondal's rendering of Pritish's portrait with some of his poetry accompanying them It was a well presented show at the Sophia Art Gallery. I cannot think of anything more significant from Nandy after that.

Are any of the stories that you have done while in BLITZ still close to your heart ?

Oh, yes! One was the coverage of a ghastly incident. Briefly, it was the murder of a girl inside an examination hall. She was burned to death ny a man who was said to be her "lover”. It was reported that he later committed suicide. The other was a piece of the Mondal- Nandy show which still stands out in my mind.

Mondal was brought straight from a village in rural Bengal and made a place for himself in the art world in Mumbai. Nandy was directly responsible for this.The uniqueness of this exhibition was that it was rendered entirely on glass.

Who is your favourite author? And your poem ?

I find it hard to think of an author better than J.G.Ballard whose writing is like sharp edged hallucinations. Dylan Thomas and Arthur Rimbaud are two poets I have already mentioned. No serious reader can overlook their "Fern Hill" and "The Drunken Boat" respectively. But to the new generation of readers I would definitely recommend Adil Jusawalla and Dom Moraes. There are so many books for them to read. They may dismiss Jusawalla and Moraes as old hat.They are entitled to their own opinions but they should read Khaled Hosseini "A Thousand Splended Suns"

Your book of poetry is titled "Majoun" what does this title mean?

I was pondering over a title when I came across this word in a book called "Report from the Bunker" by Victor Bockris who has spent time with Burroughs in New
York's Bowery area where Burroughs lived at the time. Majoun is a sweet made of flour, honey and hashish. It is kneaded to a consistency of dough. It is then rolled out into thin wafers and dried in the sun. It is best consumed with a hookah and coffee. Burroughs says it as being extremely potent. So why "Majoun"?

Simply because the poems have been drawn from many sources, just as majoun is made up of various ingredients. Add to this the cut up and spliced method.

What are you working on at present ?

This is a state secret -- no, seriously, it is a book of poems. yes, AGAIN!