Rajendran Nair Madathil’s ‘THE ASCENT’
266 Pages. Notion Press.  Available on Amazon

Nair is a poet of actualities but also loves depiction of disconnected life with an arcane technique. He rarely moves out of the region of realities and when he grasps the vagueness, enigmas and ambiguity around, he is awesome in sharpness of linguistics arsenal. This aspect of his poetic venture baffles and a reader seeking poetic pleasure feels hypnotized sans therapy. He is in love with life like any other normal human being but here, he is very near to nature and its picturesque splendor, human relations, life, existence, and the life beyond. When he drives us to areas of life beyond, he feels bamboozled with no possible reprieve. His thoughts and feelings travel with a distracted intellect in search of concord and harmonization and this quality stays concealed. Even a cautious poetic lover will not discern the ploy, but at last, would try to collect poetic thoughts Nair spreads around so near and yet very distant.

Born in Bombay 1946, Madathil Rajendran Nair spent half of his life as an expatriate and served in the Public Relations Group of Kuwait. An advaita enthusiast with philosophic incline, he started writing at sixty in English and Malayalam. ‘The Ascent’ is the publication of Notion Press Platform …www.notionpress.com

The beauty of nature in his poetry is inherent in its varied hues and moods delineating silence of man in optimistic and disquieting form at the same time. Nature presents gentle showers and contagious colors before eyes while the life of plants, grows abundantly. Everything gives sense of luminous feelings.  The birds and little hymning or say droning insects, engage ‘the inner-self.’ It is mesmerizing and irrepressible musical banquet as if one were walking in the morning silence.

Strange are Nature's ways -
spring external is sung in myriad tunes,
extolled in poems ecstatic,
an internal efflorescence,
perhaps, a million times more colorful
is condemned a plague.  – (Invisible Efflorescence 37)

The questions arise as to why it filled man with ambiguity and qualms, where nature’s beings live freely sans any threat to life and never care for what would happen    next, and stay away from portentous anxiety and misery.  The poet cannot forget to make a mention of sufferings and challenges to existence a man confronts.

The poet as a grandfather watches a sleeping granddaughter under the protection of mother who wields many shields as if it were a fetus guarded through amniotic sound and auxiliaries emerging defense. A sign of strengthening human relations - a mother knows ‘White Music 39’. The child passes through three stages of growth and so an old man becomes part of the growing time in the womb. Philosophically, a man seeks union of the living beings with the Absolute, the primal sound Aum ‘whose white music /flowered like a dream/the universe began to brim 40’and attributes human birth to god’s will ultimate merger.

Again, social and environmental issues crop up in ‘Lone Palmyra.’ Only the name exists while those beautiful trees of Palmyras are no more. No plant life exists. In the name of progress, men cut trees for the man’s comforts and wants. It is massacre as if as ‘Time has leveled the lands / Into depraved modernity/ Yet the name haunts/ A broken Jain temple stands/ Testifying to an ancient cultural past 45.’ It is a journey between antique ethnicity and existing chaos.

The poet presents meaningful feast to the eyes when he walks on the mosquito-filled street that appears pleasing with the incense burning in some houses. A sensible bark alerts him but it seems a welcome growl. He notices a grandpa fully covered as if wintery chill but it was still to come. Suddenly, a woman hailed the child with warm and sweet words, and the next moment, he was inside his comfortable house. He thought many are not fortunate, and has no cause to feel distraught where ‘lonely humans grieve’ Street of Love 53’.

The Poor, the deprived and the unprivileged suffer he observes. He presents striking scenario of mosquitoes infested street even while women burning incense at home make it amusing and a bit scratchy and so the world of the street moves –

The stupid stars above smiled
In total unconcern and disregard
That is how they are taught to behave
When lonely humans grieve
On an earth where mosquitoes feast – (54 ibid)

Afternoon Thundercloud 55 makes him vigilant. A baldheaded man enjoys the liberty to enter the house and cheers up the spirits in indolent snooze - again a magnificent charming nugget. Poems like ‘Dream within a Dream …93’ and ‘Kaveri’ continue with a mystical and philosophic strain and think of life beyond secular actualities. ‘I Love Me Most’ 98 talks of transitory corporal existence. Man is egotistical and arrogant but ignores decay and death of body. Man’s existence is nothing but a dream he avows again as nature plays a noteworthy role.

He is incredible in depicting internal and external scenarios with the strength of acute and in-depth scrutiny carrying strain of mysticism, spiritual torrent of feelings, thoughts and philosophy. At the experiential level, he amazes. A simple encounter with a girl carries him to ecstatic heights, and then, abruptly he feels upset, sloppy, imperfect, and sitting flustered in a bar as if it were the sanctuary to escape from the anguish of severance. Such winding-ups disturb a poetry lover. He speaks of ordinary experience and describes common scenes but gives them unusual meaning and tries to understand men, incidents, experiences and impressions gathered from entirely different perspectives - interesting, provoking and down-to-earth. Lost Love, Mom and Dad talk of love and agony gratifyingly, whereas momentary joy and eternal fatality haunts him - ‘Death on the Hillside 110’.

He says, ‘as does the visitor depart at the end of his stay / Each one has to die, each day must fade / life is that way, we like it or not; …112 ‘Over The Bamboo Fence memories of love’ 147, speaks of love and trust that love is eternal. Location, place, living or dead are meaningless – ‘…do lovers ever die?’ If a man learns to live within means, improves life, and works hard, it brings peace, joy and satisfaction or else contests begin among all.

Live in your world, love to grow in it and be contented, says he in ‘To Each His Own 162’.

Be happy with your own
It is said ‘to each his own'
To each a window has been given
Watch through it to heart's content
Never for a moment lament 162

Questions about life, existence, here and hereafter, and thoughts of duality agitate. If he talks of someone inside the Body 176, the knowledge –may be lower or higher it is that dwells within. The fruit of lowly life gives pleasure but faces death –natural end eventually. While higher knowledge tells, duality does not exist and feels one with ‘the Supreme Self –the consciousness.’

The world is Consciousness
A single whole
Perceived as impossible parts
The seer I am
Never different from it

In some verses, the poet speaks of perishable corporeal being, the cause and reason of pain and pleasure, joy and misery, and subsequently, he unexpectedly begins to reflect on life beyond. ‘I Walked In the Drizzle 232’ speaks of nature and its beauty. He appears self-possessed and serene in a slightly romantic frame of mind.

‘God knows –/Yet, an unknown pain/Is that we carry/ From birth till death/ Like unwilling pall bearers’ and again the lines- ‘Around my aching pen/ So the pain of an unknown sunset / I can immortalize,’ suggest distinctive hope in existential crisis. In Unknown Pain 245’, he starts on with a sad note and speaks of suffering and grief but in the end, force of words makes him happy and gives glimpses of an everlasting life.

Nothing escapes the razor-sharp and vigilant eyes and mind of Madathil Nair. He thinks of the birds flying in the sky with some objective perhaps. It is search of new horizons and expansion in unique discipline and ‘Formation 116 where man fails to discipline ‘the self’ what to talk of meaning and objective of life. On the other side, the man talks of the system where he lives. He speaks of democratic system but humiliates its concept and notion with the weapon of exploitation. Earlier, once he ridiculed and berated lofty ideals and undermined secular democracy. The accepted wisdom considers it a matter of great surprise. The poet desires to find a good structure of control for the country. Revolution if brings joy, it is temporary because finally, the people help their master, and the subjugated ignore the fruit and originator of uprising. It is fate of egalitarian set up he opines. Will yielding and sweet words give birth to a class struggle? He foresees a bleak future, where the ruled –the people love to live in false hope and lies of comforts, equality, freedom and peace. However, it remains an enigma 113.

As in Enigma and Formation, he expresses displeasure at the rulers’ step to demonetize. It harms social system, economy and democratic nature largely. So-called activists of democratic state are slaughtering its spirit like illiterate gathering of sovereigns. ‘Liberate Me Please!’ Not a very good observation it is on demonetization that harmed Indian Democracy. It did not help the people and the economy but brought inessential fiscal principles to discipline the intractable economy. He says -

You are busy seeking alms
At the doors of outsourcers
Across the seven seas
You have placed the land's destiny
At the mercy of foreign economies 126-127

‘Gaza’ speaks of his anxieties, perhaps of distress, inner torture and agony of humankind as he watches unfortunate continuity in hostility that disturbs all peace loving people. Love, compassion and sentiments of oneness symbolize true human beings.

He talks of growing children with all the contemporary dreams, excitement and hopes not forgetting what was in the past, and what would happen in the near future. He is apprehensive about those who are without asylum as the terrific tsunami around disturbs. At times, he conveys deep essence of short-life and immortality of natural objects but avoids pessimism inherent and eulogizes beauty and charm that hides an intimate relation for ages and tells that to live among natural world is transcendent and engaging. Scenic depiction allures in ‘Lonely Star’, Planet of the Chimps’ and Immortality’ and transmits soundless smiles eternal as men appear to merge in the entire scheme of created worlds of the sentient and the inorganic.

Abruptly, he speaks about places of meditation –Bothell in Meditation, about incomparable experience to find existence and life even in nonentity. At other moments, in lighthearted frame of mind as in ‘Missing Button’, he advises to obtain joy out of inconsequential, wasted and irrelevant incidents. In a few poems, he takes us to unfamiliar and bizarre worlds with sense or without it but it offers an import that to live without an objective with ravage, also provides meaning to life when one reflects on extinct or antiquated living beings.

For Madathil Rajendran Nair of Kerala, at times, nothing exists sans design and rationale, and everything appears hollow. In some lyrics, he depicts mental and physical state of persons who suffer from some imbalance and loss of memory. Ailments like schizophrenia or disordered thoughts haunt. Such persons do not fit into the normal pattern of daily life, and life seems totally cut off if not given appropriate treatment 170. He is worried about genuine problems of safety of women whatever the relation she harbors or nourishes in the society but nothing definite happens. At last, she confronts ignominy or end, or laments over the destiny of people where violence takes place and human beings suffer for no offense. A few among men are fond of gruesome spectacle of continuing sadism, intimidation, carnage but live in ‘unthinkable madness’ and enjoy redundant shouts, dreadful noise and fright. Notwithstanding, what excruciating incidents take place in the world, he wishes to sing song of peace, joy and eternal happiness and celebrate joy, seasons and nature offer.

Nair, the poet gives message of unity to all men irrespective of the creed, caste, color and place of birth. In togetherness, humanity survives and flourishes. All else is bunkum –‘Let Us India Make 225’.

In many lyrics, he expresses eloquently feelings of love, empathy and nationalism. Again, To Die Watched By God is an experience of a life time…what an old ailing man thinks is vividly described in these words and one begins to relate the lines to ‘the self.’  

Oh God if thine other name
Is Consciousness, light those things
For a while, so I breathe my last in aches
With a smile flowering on my face 231

He speaks of noble and great persons, and good honest workers and other commoners favorably. A tribute to Dilip Kumar a legendary actor is touching. A graphic description of an artist of immense power it is. He writes, “Oh, stranger, come back, come back, /Hero of Madhumati/ Please return to our midst /in a new Avatar to enthrall us again.18.” He speaks ardently of Sushma Swaraj, a former Union Minister and underlines her qualities of head and heart.

Alcoholic Mechanics 62 and Tomb-Raider 64 speak of poet’s strength to immortalize even an insignificant scene that talks of people who scarcely become subjects of talk but here the lyrics speak of the beauty and effective characterization with unique exploit of words, which ask readers to go deep into the import and message.

It is an experience of a nearly dreamy yet dead state of mind and intellect when one feels something happens to the body. It is moment of knowing what transitory existence one lives in a blank space one occupies but it remains blank, a huge void, Anaesthesia 14. ‘The Departed Nightingale 27’ is a tribute to Sugathakumari, a Malayalam poet, an ardent environmentalist, who fought for women's rights. A tragic tale of a woman it is who sells body to make living but is dead now. The little daughter looks up for dreams when she faces a world sans mother or father - There was a landslide last night –when the hut disappeared in the mud, He tries to connect the anguish and sufferings of the poor and the exploited with gods and humanity even as birds silently participate in the sniveling while the eternal singing continues. Nearly everyone appears apathetic for none turns up to help as flesh trade continues. None knows the miserable. Poverty, exploitation, flesh trade speak of a poignant lyric. It is anguish of a helpless girl, and highlights social anxieties in its diverse shades.

‘I Know This Night 30’- is state of pain and anguish, and also, he uses a metaphor to recapitulate old heartrending memories. Sad moments in the life of some old parents often visit them whom their children desert and now, they feel forlorn at a few moments. A lonely young woman sings alone and offers a striking portrayal of some past incidents. The poet is quite perceptive about the wretched plight of the poor and the exploited.

He pays tear-jerking homage to Sridevi 81. The beauty, incandescent eyes, charm and excellences of actor magnetized everyone, and then, the unfortunate death. Now ‘universal fire’ reduced the actor to ashes. He is ‘in silent tears with ‘a broken heart’ as her ‘mortal remains/vanishing in hungry flames.’ Later, nostalgically he talks of the magic girl, another celebrated actor of sixties Waheeda Rehman 241. Those were days of romance, thrills, love and exuberance …fear and nervousness in the life of the poet. The question of life and death becomes evident, about which the poet talks philosophically in many poems. 

Registering existence as a human being is no puzzle. Now, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ is going to play a very significant role in life as technology moves to the internal world of man through induction of data-fed machines Alexa 84 that hears and obeys meticulously. An electronic gadget it is, made intelligent through orientation of information and knowledge, which functions as a support system that is going to determine destiny the poet suggests but perhaps ignores the hidden disastrous consequences worse than natural calamities. The poet flies from a mundane thought to strange lands where he eulogizes a mighty man of Libya, the resolute revolutionary in thoughts and acts Col. Gaddafi, who did not have a celebrated death, 222. He feels indebted to Swami Dayanand Saraswati and realizes that whatever he is, is due to the influence of ‘the Ultimate Guru’

He touches everything on earth and in a lighter vein speaks of some notable occasions.

‘The Day After 19’ excitingly speaks of happy Diwali -
“Life is Diwali, don't worry,
there is no day after or before,
there is only the now.

In ‘Diwali 2018 57’, he expresses doubts of an insightful man who appears worried about dictated stupid laws. One observes a fanatic and chauvinistic attempt in manipulating acts, words and direction of life, and stays indifferent to the spreading disgusting pollution, the words, the ‘burning/Trash, grass and plastic/ Unchecked automobiles’ cause. He wants environment where one lives freely in greenery and clean air. However, none cares for clean living situations. Nostalgic memories of Diwali keep haunting.

Eid in Dubai’ presents an interesting scene in the crowded shopping mall where workers from the labour camp come for the purchase of varied stuff and ‘… impart humming life/ To the gigantic beehive/The city called Dubai 174’ It gives experience of various cultures and national spirit to which a particular person belongs. The thoughts on Diwali 209…crop up again in fragments and connected form where he indulges in passionate reflection. He not only thinks of a few old events but also articulates anxieties about global warming and subsequent pollution and prays for a Green, quiet, playful and bright Diwali. At times, he teases, somewhere he irritates with thematic concerns, and again, provokes one to contemplate on what he writes, and then in leisure connects his every word to life’s unknown or unvisited areas.

Nair is a keen observer irrespective of men, matters –internal and external and pursues scrutinizes and interprets their impact on man, society and humanity. No sight –interesting or otherwise, scenario, or place or puzzle escapes his eyes and mind.

‘Going Round Arunachala’ describes the beauty and awesomeness of the mount where Ramana Maharishi meditated long back.

Oh ye, weary trekkers
on the circuitous path of life,
turn your eyes inward, look at the mount
leaving the barks to dogs!

Again, he vibrantly describes marvelous beauty of Anacortes 32, a city in Skagit County, Washington where the beholder gets glimpses of the beautiful city, clear picture of its location, and freshness of a city in another country fascinates.

Anacortes lay, a dream of the past,
beauty of the Pacific,
with a reinvented charm,
a welcoming bosom
for paradise-seekers
and Lotos Eaters
on the islands of the Ocean.

‘Mother India – Apocalypto’ is about the glory of India, the land of famous Ganges where hope, courage and confidence survive to fight against odds of life. A woman faith in times of crisis is the theme of this poem of epical significance - a hymn to the splendor and greatness of India. The film Apocalypto epical in dimensions follows a young man named Jaguar Paw who is destined to go on a perilous journey to a world beset with fear, foreboding, glory and grandeur an amazing resemblance with Mother India.

He recalls his visit to Paris 69 and London 71 in September 2018 and genially speaks of flux of visitors to the great historic cities of the world. See the beauty of provoking weighty lines with philosophic strain.

Eiffel's rusty looks scaling into evanescent skies
eerie, metaphysical,
existential angst of Sartre and the like….

Philosophy of life and death worries the poet in ‘Cotton Candy 25 while he goes around the memory lanes. The thought infuses hope, energy and a desire to live again.

of fools on an unfortunate globe
that sold themselves to the idea
of a beginning and an end.

Touches of philosophic depths in ‘White Music’ are apparent.

Endless Sojourn 72 is a fascinating lyric with some enjoyable philosophic observations on life’s transient stay on earth in a drizzling day.

Who knows, life is a jigsaw
Dreams too, we die and wake
In deluge and in cramps

He talks of mirror images on natural life and observes that every living being has an origin and source in ‘itself’. It emerges on stipulated time and withdraws in ‘the self’, when the lord wishes. Nothing moves without the lord’s desire. The Spider Mall 79 conveys a deep philosophic thought. It has origin in Mundaka Upanishad it reminds.

Where did all of them originate
and where they vanished
at the end of my sight?

Looking at a train is an experience of a lifetime. It kills loneliness and teaches an eternal lesson that life in motion between birth, life and death carries a persuasive message even as his philosophic mind overworks to reach essence of life in ‘Where there is Always a Passing Train to Look On 88’. Witness – (92) to the growth of man, is the unknown eternal force. It could be god or…but not a human being it appears. A journey of life through many challenges, sufferings, joys, struggles and ultimate triumph and merger of a pure soul with the absolute power when he says, ‘would return when tired outright/ To my lap white it is / Ever inviting, without a blemish’

The philosophic flow continues. Elsewhere, on or beyond maturity, he says –

Life is a hymn
Seventy or seventeen
No one knows when it ends
Sing aloud till the show extends 123

Nair is a serious man who observes minute details life offers. Beneath his dignified and graceful demeanor, he appears widely travelled and cultured, who imbibed respect for humankind, is truthfully worried about its future. The idea of thought tortures him notwithstanding inner growth of man and outer short-lived radiance. Nair notices and keeps record of men and matters and with nearly accurate evaluation, defines and interprets life and existence. Surprisingly, he intellectualizes whatever eyes see, ears hear, nose smells and words he reads. The cause of multiple thought processes it is that usually intervenes whenever he indulges in poetic work. That is his strength. It is rewarding but it is the source of gratifying impatience to the readers, who have to connect varied experiential and impressionistic depictions to arrive at a winding up. Nair’s poetic style, freshness in language and astonishing incline to meanings he gives append magic to his lyrics. It may take time to seep down, but it is a fulfilling and valuable experience! It is an example of memorable, significant, fine, teasing and fresh poetry.