Teesta Review: A
Journal of Poetry, Volume 9, Number 1. May 2026. ISSN: 2581-7094
time's barter: haiku and Senryu
By Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, Harper Collins, 2015
--- Pompi Basumatary
The volume time’s
barter in an anthology of Nongkynrih’s 269 poems written in haiku and
senryu format and akin to the original Japanese writing style follows themes
centered around Nature, day-to-day routines, mundane details of life,
Shillong-Cherra-Sohra— the poet is often the omniscient observer or a partaker
as the subject of his works. The collection is divided into three parts, the first
opens without any section heading (1-236), the second (237-260) is titled Shillong
in Haiku and the last and final part (261-269) is titled as Gestures.
The second is Shillong-centric as the title suggests and the final poems are
related to hand-body gestures as observed by the poet and tried to be
deciphered.
The first section,
comprising the largest chunk of writings carry varied themes in and around
Meghalaya or in the case of a few, outside the state borders where the poet is
momentarily stationed.The temporality of his stay outside is a critical point
to bear in mind because his poems brings out his deep compassion and bitterness
towards his region as a native of the place. He is often seen to be in awe of
Nature, its changing seasons “yellow, red and green” (20), her flora and fauna
but critical to what humans have done to her.
The collection is titled
after its 90th piece—
autumn
leaves falling—
time’s
barter, dreadful
for
humans alone.
which reminds us of the
ensuing winter and the hardships from Nature and the bitter rain, fog and mist
Shillong “the state’s coldest place” (153) is known for (197)—
autumn hailstorm—
the streets a thick carpet
of russet pine leaves.
The collection open with lines on plums (1)—
juicy-looking plums
watery
waste—shouldn’t have
plucked on a rainy day.
The poem draws caution of
plucking the fruit in off-season and how that affected its taste. This
self-realisation stands as a stark reminder of how modern life today is plagued
with ‘round-the-year-found’ vegetations and fruits which are the gifts/curse of
modern urban living. A noteworthy example is the pineapple fruit, which went
global in the last few years (84)—
pineapples piled
on the roadside—the pity
of rotting plenty.
He is highly conscious of
how ravenous the waste and garbage of the city is (190)-
annual cleaning drive
garbage from the drains
piled onto roadsides.
A slave to manmade
nefarious designs, Shillong has indeed suffered due to growing urbanisation.
From the pine to pavement, the city has witnessed reduced green cover in the
last decades. He calls the village folks the true friends of Nature (112)—
nature’s loyal friends—
down-to-earth rural folk, their
huts made of mud.
Another poem (61)
expresses the glee of having an old friend return home after “failing/in the
city”. But Nature in Nongkynrih’s poetry is both an independent being, growing
through a crack in the concrete (214)
in a crack
on the new concrete wall—
a single flower.
Nature is raw and primal
in her life force, following its own cycle of life, death, recreation. Crushing
love-making bugs, black flies, dogs, he questions what a drone is doing when he
is meant to mate and produce the work force bees and beetles, the strongest
agent of pollination to sustain and propound Nature (212)—
wild yellow petal—
on its fragrant pollen bed,
beetles making love.
Also nature and time,
which or who is a cruel sub-theme in Nongkynrih’s works, is a constant
reminder of his own self. His aging body- documented as greying hair, frail
body frame, failing cognition “dull grey of clouds is/ also in my brain” (216)
and an attitude of jealousy and envy of being unable to perform the lascivious
thrills of youthful body and a sense of nostalgia (171)—
bonfire evening—
all the songs,
from my youth.
Nongkynrih’s sharp wit
cuts through the presumed veil of tranquility and brings the readers face-to-face
with bittersweet truths of life, for example, a common routine from a mundane
life isa reminder of aging self (106)—
life’s paradoxes
most precious, most
abhorrent:
the yellow of gold and
crap.
The duplicity of humans
and their vicious designs (43)—
bad neighbour’s squash,
their tentacles over the wall
reach out for a handshake.
He often shows mistrust
for humans calling the death safer than the living (199) and envisions or
rather he has witnessed an egalitarian instance and wishes it to stay (153)—
classless society
professor and mechanic,
whiskey and grilled pork.
That time and space are
temporal, time is a barter-ed entity, much like the season of autumn when
Nature bargains for the last rites of Spring, Shillong winning a lottery of
sorts in this, as she bears the only cherry blossoms on earth during autumn
(120)—
pink cherry blossoms
are now a jaded green;
winter, a jaded
grey.
Nongkynrih celebrates his
feat of his beloved city, however, the new found fame gives rise to winter
fests, which draws huge crowds and noise “winter solitude?/blasts of the
festive season” (130) which the author laments as it destroys the peace the
hills were known for, or what made the location ideal to begin with to host
such getaways.
Hence, Nongkynrih talks of
love and passion with a consuming fire (172)—
rain flooding streets—
her love,
flooding my lifeblood.
which bursts through the
pages as red intense fire—primal as Nature itself.
Although, while he talks
of passion and drive, he is also critical of teenage pregnancy in a few
sections of the society and the need for proper counselling to ensure healthier
lives of the native women whom he fondly compares to the plum, a regional
staple fruit.
Cities like Delhi,
Bangalore and Calcutta feature in the collection. The former known for its
extreme weather conditions, has a sarcastic take by the poet—
momos steaming in a jar:
people inside cards
in a Delhi summer.
Overall, Nongkynrih brings
Shillong to life in his haiku and senryu is an excellent work in its genre and
rare readings in this style from India. The poet finds an ideal example in his
hometown to utilise the writing style and serves a rare treat of beauty in
words for its readers.
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Bio:
Dr. Pompi Basumatary has a
PhD in English (Translation Studies) from EFL University, Hyd. She teaches in
Assam Royal Global University. She was one of the course developers of MA Folk
and Cultural Studies (IGNOU). She has upcoming research articles in
Routledge.She is a published translator in Sahitya Akademi, Red River Press,
Muse India, etc.
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