Promise: A Life

Poetry can be a chaos of movement, a kaleidoscope of words which spill into pattern and move away. Words which spell disproportion and reckless seeking at times, and at others make a sage or sorrowful summation.Ranjani Neriya's collection of 64 poems - PROMISE-a life - is one such. A mutant thread seems to run through the poems, stringing beads of reminiscence strewn along the path of childhood, whilst emerging into the growing vision of an ever-expanding world. Every poem evokes a different picture, a different emotion - the rasp of her Grandfather's beard, her mother's birthplace, her father's camera, her geography teacher, erstwhile ushering in vignettes of iconic figures like the hardworking women at the laterite quarry, women fighting for their rights, even a searing study of a woman who thirsts not for water alone. The agony of dumb, driven animals and uncelebrated creatures too find a place along with poems which poignantly treat loneliness and bereavement. All are presented with great skill and virtuosity.Whether moving a grain of sand into a heart-block or shattering a boulder to clear the mind, the poems delight in delineating vistas seen with a blissful 'inner eye'. PROMISE is a book to be treasured.

Born in the coastal town of Mangalore (Karnataka), Ranjani grew up in a sprawling, tile-roofed, country home set in a horticultural paradise, amidst a joint family of sorts.She graduated with Economics from St. Agnes College, Mangalore, and among other things, poetry - her first love ? just happened.Her articles and short stories have appeared in several Indian newspapers and magazines.This is Ranjani's second collection of poems. The first one ? BATIK - was published in 1994.She lived in Mumbai for many years before moving to the U.S.At 78, Ranjani feels blessed that she has a pen in her hand which still writes.