WILD HEARTS
Somte Ralte
BlueRose Publishers (October 2019)
Soft Cover Rs. 149/- (78 pp)
ISBN 978-93-5347-782-0
Wild Hearts, a collection of 47 poems, takes us into
the recesses of Somte Ralte’s mind as she explores the multifaceted world of a
young girl growing up in Northeast India. Using language that is simple and “near
to the real language” used in everyday life, she addresses issues that have
bearings on the lives of youths desiring and struggling to add meanings to
their lives. This collection is deeply rooted in the poet’s own experiences as
she talks about religion, romance, friendship, society, mental health and
herself. The first poem in the book, dedicated to the city of “eternal romance”,
is a reminder of how places and lived experiences shape people and their worldviews.
That Somte Ralte pays affectionate homage to the city that was home to her for
almost a decade during her school and college days is no surprise as she
compares it to a “fairy godmother” -
I
am so much of you
Made
by your caresses
Moulded
by your touch
Softened
by your sights.
It becomes rather apparent, as we turn the pages of
this collection, that Somte Ralte feels deeply and is acutely aware of what
transpires around her; she finds inspiration in what might be considered
trivial and in significant by some. She finds beauty in
places where it is least expected, and solace in inconvenient spaces. And yet,
where the rest flock to for redemption, she finds faults as is discernable in
her poems like “Back, to Back”. For someone born into a community where
Christianity is as much a way of life as it is a faith, to suggest that the
church and its members may not be doing enough to follow in the footsteps of
the “Master” demands courage and conviction. Somte Ralte seems to lack neither
as she muses –
But
pulpit -thumpings and gospel dances
Have
not illuminated nor
Mended
hearts that seek merely
acceptance
and not judgments.
This poem echoes her fears that the gospel would be
used as an instrument for exclusion – of the unlovable, the outcasts, the
have-nots and the weary. Though in some of her writings she comes across as
optimistic and even playful in her perception of the world, it is evident that
she has questions that weigh heavily on her. Her poem “In This Part of Heaven”
asks –
We
talk unending, of education –
Its
illumination and broadening of young minds
But
why is it, my love
That
they can’t stand an illuminated mind?
She takes no pain to conceal her frustration at the perceived
lack of willingness to explore beyond restrictive conventions and traditional
ideals. Perhaps it is because she realises how lonesome the world is, for those
who find themselves on the periphery of the society, voiceless and unheard,
that she tries to reach out to them through her art. Many of her poems are ripe
with the intention to uplift and empower as she encourages the silenced to
speak up and tell their stories. She promises to listen and stay, for as long
as it takes. The poet seems to take on the role of a shoulder to cry on for her
readers, as she constantly positions herself among those whose lives had been
“broken and torn” but also “mended and repaired”. The importance of self love
and self acceptance, and the cruciality of taking care of one’s mental health
is a recurring theme in her poems.
Somte Ralte also explores the burdens that come with belonging
to a minority community in a country with diverse cultures. In her poem “What’s
in a Name Anyway?”, she explains why she chose to be “Somte” as a teenager studying
outside her home state –
All
you wanted was to fit in among
Peers
who were prone to dismiss you.
....
Your
name was prone to misspelling
“Sawmi”
as “Swami” –
And
each syllable of your name
Pronounced
to bear different meanings:
“Laal”
for the colour red
“Maal”
for an article, but has sexual connotations
“Swami”
for addressing the yogi or the husband.
Several of Somte Ralte’s poems are confessional; she
bares her heart out and exposes herself as a hopeless romantic. Words, once
they are uttered, hold special places in her heart and she cherishes them as
much as she values memories of past relationships and encounters with people
she keeps close to her heart. For her, perfection is easy to find. All her
cares and worries vanish when she is in the company of people she adores,
regardless of where they are –
It was perfect, just you and i
With no care in the world
There was that look in your eyes
That something only i could see
But alas, perfect afternoons do not always last! Like
the “flighting sunset’, times spent with loved ones come to an end all too
soon. But the poet remains hopeful that she will be remembered the same way she
remembers –
...brevity does not
Necessarily curtail longevity;
And I hope from now on, in every sunset
You will have me in your heart.
To read Somte Ralte’s poems is to discover her and her
idiosyncratic passion for life. Her poems usher us through varied moods and
emotions. As her readers, we share her victories and happiness as well as her
loss and her pain as she actively engages with us in her colloquial tone. She writes the same way she chooses to live,
refusing to be dictated by rules and duties. Her verses and her spirit are free
– unabashed, unhindered, unafraid. She creates her own world wherein she
resists normative expectations –
But I am a free spirit,
Too large to contain in a casket
Too heavy to carry by a calculative heart
Too light to weigh on a prejudiced scale.
