Speeches, March 2008 - 2

Haiku, this tiny seventeen-syllable poetic form of Japanese origin has taken the world by storm. All over the world haiku and its related forms are being written in various languages. The popularity of haiku over other forms of poetry is evident by the number of haiku associations which have their own magazines in different countries. With the accessibility of haiku on the Internet the world is further enmeshed and haiku moments are just a mouse click away. Sometimes one wonders how the haiku has become so popular and several questions arise. What can we do to create better haiku ? Does the haiku have uses other than to satisfy the poet’s ego ? Can the poet be more than a writer ?

The haiku experience is a way of life that incorporates an awareness, a mindfulness, and a disciplined approach to that which is around each one of us. So much depends upon our milieu interior, but so much also depends upon our milieu exterior as they are

interdependent. After all what is Experience? Experience: is the act of living through an event or events; personal involvement in or observation of events as they occur. The online Encyclopedia of Philosophy clarifies experience further as being, “ information obtained externally by means of the senses or internally through emotions. ” It further goes on to say that, “ A single impression at a distinct moment of time is not itself an experience, instead experience involves a series of events from the past which are actual in one’s memory and are included in a present situation. ”

What is Joy? Joy is the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires or the expression or exhibition of such emotion.

What are words for ? Words are for communication of ideas, feelings, joys, sorrows, hopes, despair, and a myriad other moods. We as poets have a responsibility towards those who cannot express themselves, we can be examples, voices for those who do not have a voice and in a maddeningly stressful world where ambition overshadows finer feelings of thoughtfulness, tenderness, sacrifice we can bring some hope, some faith, some truth that all is not lost. Sharing one’s words with others gives us a kinship with those who read them and makes them understand the sorrow the longing the loneliness of the one who wrote them.

I have included some haiku here from different haijin from all parts of India to show the commonality of their experiences. Whether joyous or pensive they indicate how the poet’s life affected the haiku. In reading these haiku one feels conscious of having received a gift. No explanations have been given as I believe that the haiku themselves will stimulate the reader to re-experience the moment which formed the base of the poem.

Conclusion :

Can it not be said then that the haijin no matter what his calling, what his profession, what his culture or background can be a messenger of peace, for whom there are no barriers of time or space ? It is my belief that by embracing the quest for understanding through the interpretation of one’s own and other’s experiences , which may or may not be the dictates of the immediate moment, the haijin can go into a new dimension of creativity, into the joy of haiku. Thank you.

Angelee Deodhar

Vote of Thanks

by A. Thiagarajan.

Dear friends, fellow poets and guests,

I propose to take this pleasant and reverential task from more than one representative voice.

First and foremost, from the point of view of everyone assembled here ... a great and never fully expressible thanks to H. H Sri. Sri. Ravi Shankar gurudev but for whose spontaneous and most generous support, we would not have been here now for this festival. It may be of interest to you to know that H. H Ravi Shankarji was guest editing the newspaper Times of India for its edition for the day on which we had concluded a small gathering of haijin in Pune in Dec 2006 and he chose to pick up the report of the Pune Haiku meet for a prominent placement- that was and is his disposition to this form of poetry. Many thanks to him and to everyone in the Ashram for the unstinted support, cooperation and above all, for the understanding indulgence or rather indulgent understanding, which is the hallmark of generosity and empathy.

The first loud thinking came from Kala on the 9th Dec 2006 at the Pune Okayama Friendship Garden if we could organise a festival in India- we owe it to her and her 'never say die' attitude, enthusiasm and above all, an untiring stamina- both mental and physical. Though in terms of protocol this looks out of place, I could not help mentioning this, though I know I am embarrassing Kala- thanks Kala, from all of us- we know (surely me and Vidur do know) what you have gone through to see the Festival happen.

When I first approached Mr. Malesra of the Ratan Tata Trust, it was with a bit of hesitation. I expected him to ask me as to how we can expect them to support something which could at best be perceived as the indulgence of a handful of people as against the endeavors which could benefit multitudes such as in public health, mass education, poverty alleviation etc; but then,

Tatas being Tatas, they know. like our ancient kings knew that there are domains and domains and each one needed assistance and allocation. I record here with sincere thankfulness and appreciation our indebtedness to the Ratan Tata Trust for their support.

Susumu San, how can I not thank you or can I thank you enough, for the hassles you took upon yourself to be here, for your wonderful address, sponsoring a competition- an original initiative suo moto from you, your support to WHCindia. a big thank you, sir.

Special thanks to Norman Darlington, Stanford M. Forrester, Angelee Deodhar, Fakhruddin Mohammed, Dwarakanath Kabadi, and Dr Vyom . We are grateful to Dr. Jayant Karandikar, Kiran Purandare, Yogini Gandhi, Tom Alter, Cyrus Dastur, and Juhi Babbar. Particular mention, I happily make of the help from Lambaji, Ambarish, Vikram, Rohit and my fellow poets, volunteers, moderators and paper presenters. I acknowledge with gratitude the enthusiastic support from the poets from the Indian languages- we managed to bring colleagues from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka and central India. It would be our endeavor to explore further to gather from the other Indian languages as well in future.

Above all. our thanks to the great masters, haijin and enthusiasts who have carried this movement forward all along and who remain our perpetual source of inspiration. Thanks in advance, for your putting up with any inconvenience caused on account of lack of coordination and management... this is really a one-man-show- sorry, it is a one-woman-show and we seek your patience, indulgence and understanding.

Thanks everyone.