Firstpost Poetry Project: Ramneek Singh presents 'Cheetiyaan' and 'Shehar Matrix'

Beginning 22 June, Firstpost embarks on an 8 week-long journey of poetry. Featuring poets who write in English and Hindi, this project is meant to both showcase their art as well as their individual creative processes. These poets write for the page and for the stage, and the themes of their works range from love and friendships to how power-hungry human society can be. Their verses, expressed in the ‘spoken word’ format, are brought to life by visuals and supported by music. Presenting — The Firstpost Poetry Project. This is the third poet featured in this series. *** “When you have a passion for something, you don’t really ask yourself the question ‘Why am I doing this?’ You just continue pursuing it. It’s like falling in love; you don’t question why you are in love, you just feel that way.” Poetry means many different things to Ramneek Singh. When he had just begun writing, he did not measure the value that this art form held in his life. After some time, it became the only thing he actively participated in as a child, apart from academics. Over the years, it has helped him to understand his own opinions on matters of society and politics. It has prompted him to probe his own mind and think about his experiences. “It is akin to an alarm that the poet rings when they see something wrong happening in society,” he says. He believes that both the written and spoken word can be effectively used as weapons. The audience is integral to the art form, he opines. “Having an audience accentuates the performance and the experience of the poet themselves. Before the advent of the performance poetry scene and before it boomed, I didn’t quite know what could be achieved,” he says. The merit of spoken word as an art form lies in both its urgency as well as its direct nature, Singh says. “There are certain things happening in the world about which we must speak urgently. If I write a poem to be published in a book, it will take longer to reach people and its relevance may be lost. Sometimes, one wants to react to something happening in the present, so that people may understand what is happening and take action. For this, performance poetry is necessary.” But he is quick to note that poems should not lack flow and rhythm just because they are being performed. “The poem has to be lyrical,” he asserts. He also appreciates page poetry and says that the goal of both forms is the same — to be understood. “Page poetry is a craft unto itself. You can experiment to a great extent when it comes to the physical space on the page; you can leave a lot unsaid even if there are many thoughts swirling around in your head. You want your reader to figure it out — that is where the poet’s satisfaction lies. It is like a riddle.” He doesn’t have a definitive answer to the question, ‘What draws you to poetry?’ “I don’t think there is any answer for me, except poetry. I don’t think I can excel at anything else the way I do at poetry.”

Cheetiyaan
Toilet ke darwaaze ki nichli chaukhat wali patti paar karke cheetiyon ki ek rel aati hai
Jisse dekhte dekhte achanak zordar taakat ka ehsaas hota hai aur main, chetna se mukt paani ka magga bharke sab ko ek saath bahaa deta hoon zehen mein ik goonj uthti hai – ‘narsanghaar’ tajjub mein?
khushi mein? anubhooti ke roop mein? yaa fir upkaar ke roop mein – ke cheenti ke jeevan se inhe mukti dilaa di?
tabhi jaan bachaane ki afra tafri mein vyast do survivor cheetiyon par dhyan jaata hai sambhaal kar dheere se
donon ke chaaron ore paani ka ek gheraa bana letaa hoon dugna mazaa aata hai maut dene ka asli sukh uska tamasha dekhne mein hai
dheere dheere gheraa bandh ho jaataa hai unki jaati mein giraavat aa jaati hai aur tabhi khatm ho jaataa hai
mera karyakaal aur sambhaavbna, mere khilaaf kisi mukaddme ki
main uthte uthte dekhta hoon ek aur rel aur kashmakash ke aakhri chhor par khada hokar uddaar hone ka faisla karta hoon
aur jeevit chhod aata hoon unhein mere baad aane waale ke liye
jinpar woh karega apni ucchataa ka prayog, zor-aazmaaish, aur apna karyakaal kharch
kamaal hai kitna karibi rishta hota hai ek aam aadmi ke toilet aur raja ke singhasan mein donon par baithkar dimaag ek sa hi chalta hai!

Shehar Matrix   Bahut nazdeek se Bahut saaf nahi dikhta Thodi unchaayi se dekhne par Subah subah chote chote cut-piece park mein Umar lambi karne aaye log Haath hawaa mein latka ke Jab thahaake lagaate hain Toh shehar hass deta hai shaitaani hasi Usse hadbadaayi bheed ko dekhne mein mazaa aata hai Shaayad usse kabootaron ke uss jhund ki yaad aa jaati hai Jo shikaari se bachne ke liye sabak yaad karta hai Aur din bhar ratta lagaata rehta hai Shikaari aayega, daana daalega, daana nahi chugna Aur daana dalte hi uss par kood padta hai, par sabak jaari rahta hai ki Shikaari aayega daana daalega daana nahi chugna   Kandhe par latke shikaari ke jaal mein faskar bhi Shikaari aayega daana daalega daana nahi chugna   Naak ki disha mein chale jaa rahe hain sab Shehar matrix mein badal gaya hai Jungle bache nahi Na jaane kis ke darr se humne shehar ko CCTV ke shaamiyaane se dhak diya hai   Shehar neend mein hone ka bahaana karta hai Jab raaton raat jhuggiyon ke beecho beech Township waale beej bo diye jaate hain Aur subah hote hote ugg aate hain eent aur concrete ke daanav Jinki naak ke neeche se nikalte hain fly-over Aur flyover ki surakhsha mein tainaat Hoarding Jahaan se utarte hain sapne neeche Aur utpaat machaate hain Dimaag mein uske Jiski naukri abhi lagi hi hai Jisse ghar khareedna hai Sapno ka ghar Rustomjee waala – poora 555 square foot Jisse voh khareed sakta hai sirf teen crore bayalis lakh rupaye mein Ya bees hazaar ki aasaan 120 kishton mein Usse yakeen hai Itne acche builder usse kahaan milenge Jo banaakar denge usse ek ghar Ek cute ka bageecha Aur 20 saal ki guarantee vaala badaa sa EMI ka pinjra Jisme se voh dekhega duniya Window-sill par baithkar ginega bachi hui kishte Aur apne khareede hue bakse mein Sikha dega khush rehna apne saath apne bacchon ko bhi Bacche, jinke liye suraj ab A-Wing ke peeche se nikalta hai Aur C-Wing waali building ke peeche chhup jaata hai Jo aasmaan mein jahaaz ki light ko Tootataa sitaara samajh kar mannatein maangte hain Jinhe iss baat ka andaaza tak nahi ki Unke hisse mein kya kya nahi aaya   Jaayaz bhi hai Paida hote hi parinde ki pinjre mein rakh diya jaaye Toh usse aasmaan ko dekhkar bechaini nahin hoti Usse apni gulaami ka ehsaas nahin hota   Vaham ki ek parat dhak ke rakhti hai vaham ki kayi parton ko Apni pareshaani chhupa ke muskuraane waale sab ek se dikhte hain Shehar apni sahuliyat ke liye Sab ke chehre ek jaise kar deta hai Jinki shinaakth ke liye bheed se doori ka hona bahut zaroori hai Kyunki Bahut nazdeek se Bahut saaf nahi dikhta *** Read about the first and second poet featured in this series