A Ray of Light
Dedicated to the memory of my grandfather and his father i.e. my great grand father
Say, what you want to say-
In a loud and clear way.
Let it be audible to one and all
Let it be a clarion’s call.
Let your message be relished.
Let it be for a lasting bliss.
To shift focus of their fixed minds-
From dullness to illumination.
Your life’s experiences –
Bitter, sour and tense,
Or sweet, like honey
In rain, sun and shade.
Has taught you wisdom
Shown you God’s Kingdom _
To illumine your soul and mind
Lit candles, to spread light around.
Preface (excerpt)
Like a butterfly, which lays eggs on the leaves, which hatch to form larva and they grow into worms, then to hibernate in cocoon before again to transform as butterflies to fly into oblivion. To hop from flower to flower to suck its nectar and enjoy life to its brim. So also, a poet on attaining and gaining maturity, reflects on myriad colours of the glorious life and his pen pours forth the nectar collected from life.
I have been bitten by the poetical instincts and the deep reflections, meditations and experiences gained in various faculties of life situations to take shape in the form of verses.
Here, I am presenting my fifth collection of poems ‘A Ray of Light’ to my esteem readers, who are profound judges of the work of a poet. A poet’s reflection is like a light passing through a prism to throw on the screen the spectrum. In this collection of poems, I have reflected my thoughts and feelings on myriad life’s experiences.
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Foreword to A Ray of Light by Dr. Chhote Lal Khatri (excerpt)
S.L. Peeran is a seasoned poet with a clear vision of life, unsoiled, unaffected by the western cultural onslaught. In this anthology as in his earlier ones he comes out as one of the few poets in Indian English poetry who has overcome the lingering wasteland sensibilities looming large around us. Certainly the sufist impact on him keeps him smiling in his lines of verse. Even in a poem like “Turmoils of life” the final note is of triumph. In this volume calm, serene and brooding atmosphere prevails upon the occasional sentimental outburst of anger and protest with an ultimate optimism. He does protest in poems like “Ah Conscience !”, “Ah Callousness !”, “Loot It”, “Tyrannical Living”, “Perils and Dangers” and in some other poems. He is fully alive and super sensitive to the unhealthy situations around him.
Peeran is essentially a poet of faith, love, compassion and inner wisdom. The present anthology is an exploration of light with a sufist mission to spread the light of the finer sensibilities imbued in our religions. In this way poetry serves as his vehicle. The title poem “A Ray of Light” projects KAABA as a perennial source of light that illumines our soul. ‘Spread light’ is a beautiful poem of udbodhan that derives positive meaning out of our bitter experiences.
Your life’s experience -
Bitter, sour and tense,
Or sweet, like honey
In rain, sun and shade.
Has taught you wisdom
Shown you God’s kingdom
To illumine your soul and mind
Lit candles, to spread light around.
There is hardly any aspect of life that he has not touched in these 95 poems, 74 Haiku and 27 Tanka. His socio-political and above all human concerns are well eked out in many of his verses. However, the same spirit runs through his Haiku and Tanka. He has comfortably succeeded in giving poetic forms to his thoughts and musings. Peeran has succeeded in carving out his place in Indian English Poetry with his four poetry collections of substantial size and many more to come.