The Creative Process: The Arts of War (Spring 2017)

The Creative Process
a diary and reads them over and over to reiterate his faith in his
capacity to write poems.
His love for travelling inspires poetry too, saying that “We nurture
the myth that we are permanent. We are just tenants on earth.
Capable of dissociating and writing.” His poems are an extension of
himself, and he believes the page is a patient listener, a living entity
that understands his pain. He believes that thoughts and emotions
come first in his creative process, and the craft that evokes emotions
comes much later for him. His poems are a collection of his
experiences and encounters with people, and are prompted by his
urgency to write and record their stories. Since he is a traveler and
filmmaker, his poetry borrows from his visual craft by attempting to
paint vivid pictures from his imagination and stir the listener's sense
of imagination. Some evoke, some provoke, while others just take
the reader to a place he once travelled to.
Will poems stoke a fire in our hearts which are oblivious to the
consequences of war and conflicts? We sit wrapped in a cloak of
sympathy and the comfort of our chairs and drown out all pleas for
help from the valley in the chaos of this city. Are we doing enough?
As Ramneek questions these dark times where our freedom is
threatened under the guise of being national by asking “Aazadi hain
kya mujhe apne aazadi ke liye sawal karneki?” (Do I have the
freedom to ask questions about my own freedom?)
--
Rutika Yeolekar (text and translations)
Image Courtesy: Ramneek Singh/ Chanda Gauranga
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