The Rhapsody of Kashmir - Softcover

Kaul, Maharaj

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1482874474 ISBN 13: 9781482874471

Publisher: PartridgeIndia, 2016

Synopsis

In The Rhapsody of Kashmir, his fifth collection of poetry, Kashmiri-American poet, Maharaj Kaul, describes Kashmir, the land of his ancestors, after the civil war of 1989. He saw the wanton destruction of human beings and homes, milieu and culture. He laments: 

The clandestine evil schemes of 80’s 

Hatched in our neighbor country 

Coalesced into one infernal insane fire in ’89, 

Destroying the finely woven culture of a millennia in the valley, 

Disturbing the tranquility of a million years among the mountains. 

A friend turned into a murderer, 

A neighbor into an arsonist; 

A community acquiesced to become an army. 

An angelic valley became a death valley – 

All in the name of God and religion. 

(From the poem “Roots.”) 

In his preface to the book he writes: 

“The ongoing political crises in Kashmir, born in 1947, has mutilated the soul of Kashmir. The political heroes of the crises have no idea of the damage they have done to it. It will take a long time before the soul of Kashmir is healed,....” 

But Maharaj Kaul has a hope that one day Kashmir will be reborn: 

“But the idea of Kashmir is still not dead, 

There is hope, in fact, a dream, that one day it will be reborn 

And reconnect with its past glory. 

Then we will not mourn the lost time, 

But celebrate man’s infinite resilience, 

To forget, to forgive, to recreate, and move on.” 

(From the poem “The Shattered Dream of Kashmir”)

About this title

About the Author:

Maharaj Kaul was born in Kashmir, India, where he spent his childhood and boyhood. He graduated from Banaras University, in India, in electrical engineering and went on to Polytechnic Institute of New York for the masters degree. He worked as an engineer for forty years, out of which the last thirty years with American Cyanamid (which later became Wyeth and then Pfizer). All his life, he has been interested in the foundations of human mind in the areas of science, religion, and art. In the recent years, he has been involved in the study of the impact of technology on human values and happiness. Out of that immersion have come out eight books (including the present one), which include 186 poems. The notable books are the following: 1. The Light through the Woods: Dreams of Survival of Human Soul in the Age of Technology (poetry) 2. Meditation on Time (poetry) 3. Inclinations and Reality: The Search for the Absolute (autobiography) 4. A Beautiful Pain (poetry) 5. Agony of Dal Lake: Kashmir’s Soul under Pressure (International Affairs) 6. A Remnant of Time (Poetry) He lives in Suffern, New York, USA.

About this edition

• Publisher: PartridgeIndia
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1482874474
• ISBN 13: 9781482874471
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 126