1. Europe has been facing serious problems lately, and the question is whether the European Union, which unites the majority of European countries, will even exist in ten or twenty years' time. Certainly one of the reasons is that we have never been able to build an European identity. The history of India and Europe differs in many ways, but India also has many different nations, cultures, languages. I wonder how it is with the question of identity in India: in what way does Indian identity merge with local identities and how does this affect poetry and particulary your poetry, if affect at all?
Siva:- India has faced invasions in the past and their remains reflect in our culture too. Some Seventy four years ago India too was under British Rule. The Country has a mix of various cultures and our States are divided on a linguistic basis, Sanskrit to the down to Earth Dravidian languages. We have a rich source in our tribal as well as coastal languages and culture. As to the question of identity, it cannot be singled out, because we are a secular nation of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists together.
Lately, we are having numerous translation workshops on Poetry , which results in exchange of languages and culture. It is a time of revival for Dalit and Women empowerment in all languages because their problems still exist. Our Poetry also reflects and highlights such issues. I am also a witness to these fights and resistance and my poetry too goes with the flow.
2. If misunderstanding in Europe is typical for part of politics, it is not typical for poets: poets meet regularly, communicate, translate. This takes place in Slovenia mainly on a personal level, while the state practically does not care about the promotion of Slovenian poetry in Europe and in the world. How is interlingual and intercultural cooperation organized in India, between different cultures within India, as well as at the level of presentation of Indian poetry in the world?
Siva:- India is a democratic secular Nation. Still unfortunately, there are anti-democratic or anti-secular fractions or practices. I cannot say, Poets here are not political, but they are not blind followers of Political Parties. They can and do criticise the Politics, which he also belongs to. They speak and write on almost all issues of importance, pertaining to their State, the Indian Nation or even Universal. But to become a Global citizen, at first you have to be a perfect native citizen.
Poets get to meet fellow poets in Poetry festivals. There are International and National festivals of poets interacting from various languages. Some others are confined to individual languages. We have official Central Literary Academy and linguistic Academies in all States. Interaction and exchange takes place in various meets organised by these academies. There are also other independent poetry meets.
3. You write in Malayalam. Can you briefly introduce readers to the language as well as the history of poetry written in that language? And what is your attitude, relation towards tradition, including tradition in the field of poetry, and how does this manifest itself in your poetry, do you break with tradition or perhaps continue it?
Siva:- Malayalam is believed to have adapted much from Sanskrit and Tamil as to the Dravidian culture. It dates back to about 800 years. It has very old dialects like that of the tribes, sects, coastal population and so on. Earliest poetry was in the form of songs. Another form had a mix of Sanskrit or Tamil. Then there was the change from medieval to modern. Poetry was written for performing arts, dance forms, labour like boat rowing, farming, ballads, traditional rituals, hero worship and other cultural occasions. We have a rich treasure of folk literature. After a period of romanticism, social issues came into poetry. Some poets worked hard and came out with continuous innovations. Social issues, change in theme and form, constructions, deconstructions and class-caste-gender discriminations found place in our Poetry. Malayalam poetry became contemporary in the twentieth century. The sixties brought modernism. The seventies saw the quest for individual identity. It was the turn of native vision in eighties and nineties. Everyday language came into poetic expressions. There is diversity in tones, rhythms and forms in contemporary Malayalam Poetry. Dalit poetry had its place in our poetry very early. It has struggled forward to earn a prominent place now. Women’s poetry has also shown its significant presence. Blogs and Social media paved way to a lot of good poets.
I am not against tradition, but I am not sticking to it. You must be aware of the past to have a broader view of the future. To learn what is new, I had gone through the past poetry also. Our folk and local have much enriched my vocabulary. I have used earlier styles or conventions self-consciously, if the poem or the theme demanded it. ‘What I have to say’, decides ‘how I have to say’. The theme moulds the form and the presentation. I don’t want to repeat myself in my next poem. I do not want to write anything which has not touched me. I like to question, argue, negate and doubt my own poetry.
4. When and how did you start writing poetry? Which poets inspired you the most at the beginning of your poetic career?
Siva:- I have grown up in a village between the Sea and farmlands, among so many cultures, festivals, rituals, nature and art forms. I had an affinity to books from childhood. My first poem was published in a Children’s magazine when I was at school. I think, it was in my University days I took poetry seriously. But I think poetry is in me even when I am not writing it. I have gone through Neruda, Paul Celan, Czeslav Milosz, Nazim Hikmet, Zbignew Herbert, Yahuda Amichai, Symborska and so many others. But I will say Seamus Heaney and Jorge Luis Borges inspired me most. In my language my affinity is to Kunchan Nambiar, R. Ramachandran, M.Govindan, Ayyappa Panikker and K.Satchidanandan.
5. For contemporary Malayalam poetry, it is said to be characterized by a great deal of attention to form and language, and that many poets use everyday language for poetic expression. I don't know Malayalam, but based on the translations of your poems, I have a feeling that their language is close to everyday language, and at the same time your poetry is full of suggestive images that sometimes are not just realistic …
Siva:- Ancient and earlier Malayalam Poetry was written inside meters. In the nineties there appeared changes. Various cultures, discriminations, politics and art paved way to a poetry, which anyone can write and everyday language came into our poetry. Literature is the fuel to history and we have a vast history rich in images and characters. I feel imagery is both more realistic and emotional than verbal thought. Images appeal to our senses of sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. Life is full of happenings and a poem is a magnified or filtered imagery of it. I prefer metonymy to metaphor.
6. What is the biggest challenge for you in writing poetry? Form or content? What do you focus more on? And can there be any difference between form and content in poetry at all …
Siva:- Content has never been a challenge. The form always matters. It cannot be the same form for every content. Some content may be very difficult to convey. Poet has to find never before forms to express them. It may be dramatic, graphic, reporting or even computer language. After all it is the time of visual media now.
7. You write poetry and you write about poetry. What does writing and thinking about the poetry of other authors bring to you as a poet?
Siva:- I have not written about poetry of others much. I started reading poetry by those before me to have an awareness of where I am standing. Presently, I am more indulged in reading poets who came after me. Recently I have expressed my certain feelings on contemporary poetry, lot of which is abundantly available in Social Media. I try not to be influenced by the poetry of both those before or after me. If any poet writes on poetry of others, that will be only according to his views and observations on his own poetry.
8. I have read that in contemporary Malayalam poetry there are two trends: one is that of women’s poetry and the other is Dalit poetry. Do you agree with that? And can you briefly describe both trends and your relationship to these two trends?
Siva:- I am against any compartmentalisation in Poetry. The suppressed and oppressed are in any society. In our Country, there is caste discrimination or atrocities against women. It does concern whoever thinks on humane line. Anybody can write for those suppressed, if he feels so, without being categorised, dalit or woman. For a while the women poetry roamed around body. Dalit poetry, mostly expressed the dark past. Both led to repetitive poetry. In my opinion any poetry should move on and nowadays there seem some bright changes.
9. Thanks to new media (internet and social networks), poetry is making a comeback among readers - at least that's how I see the situation. However, at least in Slovenia, poetry is practically no longer present in public or, better said, in the mainstream media (the largest newspapers, on television ...). What is the position of poetry in India and especially in Malayalam-speaking regions?
Siva:- In India still there is space for print media and printed poetry collections, but gradual changes are visible now, like webzines and personal blogs. In Malayalam, the main platform is Facebook. You can see links to print, online and web magazines in Facebook. Hundreds of poets’ profiles can be seen in Facebook. The Social Media boom has given space to so many poets who cannot find a space in print media. Not to mention all, but There are good poets among them. They don’t depend on any mainstream print media to publish their poems. And new publication houses, apart from big ones have emerged to publish the collections of these new poets. It seems good for Malayalam poetry though there are fake coins here and there. Genuinely serious readers will filter out and read, poetry of those poets who came here to stay.
10. How do you see the role of poetry in the modern world? What is its purpose supposed to be? And does poetry have or should it have any purpose at all?
Siva:- Poetry cannot change the World or Humankind. But a World without poetry will be chaotic. Poetry should be there, because it is not hate but love, not violence but mercy. It can keep people connected. It is a new way of thinking about anything. It can affect all generations with its intimacy. The role of poetry is that it does not have any role beyond its own construction and being in the mankind. But the role of poetry is there as it is more important than a social commentary. It can be our companion on social awareness to make us think critical and allows us to feel we are human. I would say, its role will be forever shifting and adapting. Poetry can keep us prompting to be alive.
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