Sri Krishna Mangal







Issue V: Potpourri
A Poet and his Poetry

Shri R.C. Jangle, A poet with concern for humanity as a whole

There are different varieties of literature in India: Secular literature, Religious literature, Communist literature, Dalit literature, Mainstream literature, jovial literature, serious literature etc. Most of the literary works are tinged with the authors religion, caste, nationality, philosophy, thinking etc. Rarely do we come across poems which transcend the limits of caste, religion, nationality etc. and express concern towards human sufferings purely from the standpoint of a fellow human being. The poems of Shri Jangle come under this category.

First, about the poet: Shri Jangle was born in 1950 in one of the tiniest tribal villages in Ambegaon Taluka situated on the Western Ghats the oldest mountains - the SAHYADRI. He studied in Junnar, and passed his SSC examination with good percentage of marks in1971.

He could not study further for want of economic assistance from any quarter. He joined the Coffee Board in 1973. He married in 1977.

Due to the nature of his job, Shri Jangle traveled throughout India for the last 20 years and came in contact with various zonal cultures, races, dresses, habits and festivals. Perhaps this gave him a correct understanding of UNITY IN DIVERSITY which we Indians are always fond of boasting, but never practising. His poems abundantly reflect his vision, passion and concern for humanity.

He has written about 300 Marathi poems. He started writing in Hindi and English from July 1992. The first edition of his book, The Moments I lived with was published in October, 1993. It is a collection of 73 poems on a variety of subjects. Recently I came to know that these poems are going to be saved in the internet as a permanent record for the future. My hearty congratulations to Mr. Jangle.

Now about his poetry: It does not contain high vocabulary, erudite English and ornamental figures of speech. Yet his poems strike a chord in our hearts because the language is simple and lucid and the poems come out straight from his heart. In acknowledgment of his book I wrote as follows:

Simplicity of style, idealistic thinking, humorous approach, amorous imagination, scientific temperament and realistic presentation are the hall marks of MUKTANKURS poems, which flow as free verses elegantly and forcefully as in water falls.

Pawar Nagar, Thane(W). K. ANANTANARAYANAN

Now Srikrishnamangal is reproducing a poem from his book The Moments I lived with:

Nuclear Baby

It is you, who gave birth to the Nuclear Baby
It is you, the man who made the dangerous nuclear weapons.

In rare cases, the child dies before the father, but mostly after the father.

I am afraid this infant who has handsomely grown younger now may perhaps see his fathers end or death before it has further matured or become older.

I requested Shri Jangle, if he had any unpublished poems, he gave me a poem on the fate of a child in Iraq, who lost his limbs during the American bombings and it is quoted below:

Can you get my arms back?

  1. One cannot honestly expect Ali Ismaeel Abbas a raw age of 12 years to be a follower of Allah, Jesus or any other God calling it his own.
  2. How can he understand the dirty politics either.
  3. Which law of the world can grade him a terrorist, anti-human or anti-national?
  4. In which way can he be held responsible for crimes committed by Saddams regime?
  5. Ali was just an innocent child knowing nothing about this bloody war and horrible warfare of today.
  6. Then Why? Why? and Why? Those strongest armies of Bush and Blair, bombed his weakest arms apart.
  7. Destroyed his world of fortunes.
  8. Snatched away all his bright future?
  9. Killed his holy parents, respectable relatives and lovely friends?
  10. And Now throw him into the jaws of cruelty of being dependent on the mercy of others.
  11. I know for sure, neither Jesus, Allah or any other God will replace his arms.
  12. Will any noble scientist for the sake of the entire child community do this heavenly job and thereby avoid the unanswerable questions from future generations?

CAN YOU GET MY ARMS BACK?

Those who want the copies of the book The moments I lived with, may contact, Shri R.C.Jangle, A-4/1, Parijat Niwas, Pawar Nagar, Pokhran Road No.2, Thane (W), Maharashtra.

Bus(h)vanam

Q. What was the opinion of Richard Nixon, ex-President of USA, regarding the utility of UNITED NATIONS?

A. FROM WHERE ELSE, AMERICA CAN GET, FREE OF CHARGE THE SERVICES OF INDIAN SOLDIERS TO DO OUR DIRTY WORK IN SOMALIA AND OTHER PLACES?

Q. What is the cost of a privileged and prestigious seat near Bush Jr. and of a lunch with Tony Blair?

A. NOT MUCH, ONLY THE LIVES OF A FEW HUNDRED INDIAN SOLDIERS IN IRAQ, (EVEN IF THEY ARE SENT AFTER THE U.N. MANDATE).

Q. What is Bush-Blair theory?

A. 1. One dollar is equal to Rs. 45/-. Therefore one American Soldiers life is equivalent to lives of 45 Indian soldiers.

A. 2. Bush and Blair have a hereditary right to produce any number of bombs, but other countries do not have the right to do so, even in self defence (EAST INDIA CO. OF THE 17TH CENTURY MAXIM)

A. 3. America has a right to attack Afghanistan as a retaliatory measure and to attack Iraq in anticipation of a future attack; but India should show restrain even if the Parliament with its leaders inside it is attacked. A. 4. OIL FOR THE AMERICANS AND BULLETS FOR INDIANS.

Q. Napoleon Waterloo
Rajiv Gandhi Sri Lanka.
A. B Vajpayee - ?

A. Will it be Iraq?