Published by Nomadic Books
123 pages
ISBN – 978-81-948395-3-8
Price: INR 250/-
The book is available at: https://tinyurl.com/buyhaiku
The Salt of a Distant Sea by Anitha Varma. Reviewing Editor: Akila G.
When a book of haiku selects this title that happens to be a phrase of a haiku from this collection, the author has already kindled the reader to open his eyes, take a deep breath, and delve into sensorial perceptions.
Anitha Varma is a seasoned haijin who has been exploring this form for a decade now and ‘The Salt of a Distant Sea’ is her debut collection with over 500 haiku.
moon slips
silently into the pond
no ripples The first haiku sets the tone of the book inviting the reader to immerse in its offerings, the silence, its sounds and its synesthesia. A few other haiku demonstrate this too.
he holds her hand
a tad longer than needed
bangle seller
which teases the sense of touch and sound with the tinkle of bangles.
traffic jam
the route a raindrop takes
on the window
paints the silence in the backdrop of noisy vehicles.
Anitha’s deft choices of images own the aesthetics of her haiku; be it minimalism or seasonal references.
matrayoshka dolls the many me’s in me
This monoku personalizes the image of a ‘matrayoshka doll’.
Consider this one:
each one so different snowflakes
One would want to absorb the silence of the snowflakes and nod in agreement.
Moon is a popular kigo and one of the most malleable of images. Anitha’s love for the moon can be seen in her choice of images, fresh and novel in combination with the phrase.
doctor’s verdict a no again snow moon
Here the snow moon of winter juxtaposes as end of hope:
wolf moon eclipse
still searching
for the elusive me
The ‘wolf moon’ or the first full moon of January and a new year; in that light looking within to search for the hidden self, offers a perfect juxtaposition.
wanderer moon…
would the jacarandas bloom
without me
Here, the poet, wandering like the moon, wonders if she would miss watching the Jacarandas bloom which, happens between March and May, the early summer months in India.
mead moon…
my evening glory reaches
to the sky
The mead moon of summer solstice when the evening glory is in its full bloom.
new moon…
shadows have
no shapes
This haiku holds the surprise element in shadows in L2 making one wonder what would new moon or no moon know anything about shadows till L3 reveals it all.
gibbous moon night
the tree trunk makes
a scary shadow
The above ku captures the time and the amount of light present just enough for a shadow. Both words – moon and night become essential to hold the verse.
A few other moon ku that had some beautiful juxtaposed images are:
inconstant moon
once more he forgets our
anniversary
worm moon…
the way his smiles
make or break my day
full worm moon
the roadside Buddha
festooned in spider milk
The image in the last verse explores both the horizontal and vertical axis- a clear picture of Buddha and a life thriving and springing around it.
Talking of exploring the horizontal axis in haiku, I share a few from the collection that demonstrate this aspect.
dandelion fluff
still the urge to fly
without wings
The above haiku opens up possibilities tied to a single fragment; the urge to fly in a wounded bird or the urge for dreams to take off or just the dream to become a bird and savour the sky. The fragment of dandelion fluff carries karumi or the lightness of the verse.
painting project
she asks me to show her
the colour of wind
The fragment in this haiku ties down the abstractness of the phrase. It becomes a question: does the wind have a colour? That may hold ‘No’ or ‘Why not’ for an answer in the perspective of a painting project.
critical mass
as much rain as a lotus leaf
can hold
The lotus leaf carries the weight of this haiku.
Anitha has quite a few delectable senryu too carrying the essentials of karumi as well as depth.
flu season
the steam from the inhalator
looks like the genie
The lightness of this verse is bound to bring smiles as one fights the flu.
city smog
the sun a deep yellow
in all the potholes
Another vertical axis plays in this visual image that brings out the impact of smog contrasting the deepening sun.
chittering squirrels
the coffee table between us
light years long
A light-feathered L1 that gathers weight in the phrase. The coffee table, a relative measure of distance and contrast that links to images of chatter and silence.
The collection is no less than a personal diary, of sorts, laid open for readers to walk in and out with their takeaways. This review barely manages to showcase a handful of poems in this book that rightly hinges on its opening verse:
dreamcatcher those that get away
Hope to see more from Anitha Varma.
A well-written review, Akila! After this I truly appreciate Anitha Varma's poetry even more. Thank you!
Thank you very much, Akila. Thank you for painstakingly going through it and the kind words.. ❤️
Akila, lovely review! And all the more crisp are the images portrayed to the point.
.
the salt
of a distant sea
entwined memories
opening to the sky
where I stay
.
To Anitha Varma, this is to you!