By: Jatinderpreet

Times of Ludhiana

It is a tribute to motherhood by the acclaimed Punjabi poet and artist Swarnjit Savi that has been brought together in a book form. ‘Maa’, the poetry book was released at a function held on the first death anniversary of the poet’s mother here on Sunday. Sant Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal along with a galaxy of literary personalities and artists was at hand to lend a gravitas to the occasion.

The book written adoring memory of the poet’s departed mother has been aesthetically put together along with black and white pictures, clicked mostly by the poet himself, lending it a different charm.

In words of renowned playwright and academic Atamjit, Savi tries to expand the perception with his imagination and comes out with his highly impersonal and meaningful statements. Trying to come out of the pangs of his departed mother; Savi pays a perfect homage to his mother.

Mother, in Savi’s poetry is not confined to a single person, who gave birth to the poet, but it is the embodiment of all the motherly instincts that we see sadly lacking in today’s world. It is this lack of  maternal feeling that has made man plunder and exploits the mother earth, which also find voice in Savi’s book.

Eminent critic Amarjit Grewal, who has also written a foreword in the book, identifies the clash of material instincts and paternalistic norms as the focus of Savi’s book. While dreaming of society has no way, but to give at least some way to motherly feelings, he said.

The diverse dimensions of Savi’s poetry was the focus of discussion in the session afterwards. Among others present on the occasion were Surjit Patar, Amarjit Grewal, Jaswant Zafar, Gurbhajan Gill, Shameel and Balram.

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Savi pays poetic tribute to the mother
AMRITA CHAUDHRY
Ludhiana Newsline

Sant Baba Balblr Singh Seechewal releasing Swarnjit Savi's poetry book 'Maa' In Ludhiana.

THIS was a book release function with a difference. Well known poet, painter and photographer Sawranjit Savi chose the First death anniversary of his mother to release his eighth book on poetry titled MAA. The solemn function was held at Gurdawara Gur Giyan Prakash Jawwadi and the honours were done by Baba Bal­bir Singh Seechewal and well known poet Dr. Surjit Pattar.

Talking about his book, Savi said, "The majority of the poems in this book are about my mother, especially the time after she passed away. Her death, the rituals involved, we taking her ashes to Haridwar her name being incorporated into this huge family document which is main­tained by the pundits, the way my father reacted to her death and so many other things. How she was treated during her lifetime by my father and how he wept when she died." To this, the poet adds, "and then somewhere along the poems ceased to be just about my mother. The poems became my mother, my wife, my daughter and even those thousands of daughters who are killed in the mother's womb."

The book which is also a visual treat, with some great photographs taken by Savi himself of his native village, begins with a short prayer to the Cosmic mother and then comes a poem titled Alvida Maa (Goodbye Mother!). Weav­ing through a gamut of emotions through adi, Gati, Gau Maa(n) the poet has brought to life and poetry the otherwise harsh but true and mundane realities of day to day life. As Amarjit Singh Grewal, in his preface to this book writes, "Sawaranjit Savi has tried to focus and build a society whose basic compo­nents are the feminine qualities like coop­eration and love and not the usually mas­culine traits of violence arid competition. We all have seen the ill effects of the soci­ety that stands on violence and through his poems Savi is clear that we do not need such a society but a beautiful future which will be constructed on emotions like love and motherhood."