HCSHR 7:3 — The Ten Hands of a Fuchka Seller: haiku and senryū by Daipayan Nair.
HCSHR 7:3 — The Ten Hands of a Fuchka Seller: haiku and senryū by Daipayan Nair. (Kolkata: Penprints, 2024). ISBN: 978-81-974036-2-0. 80 pp. Price: INR 300 | Softcover, ±$45 from amazon.ca; Ebook, ±$5 from play.google.com, Info: <nairdaipayan744@gmail.com>
Review by Richa Sharma
.jpg)
Daipayan Nair’s second collection of haiku and senryū, The Ten Hands of a Fuchka Seller, is a poetic diary of verses collected from his world of emotions. As the virtues of “love” (ai) and “respect” (kei) permeate his social relationships, the images and symbols take me on a cultural pilgrimage to Kolkata and North East India. Through this, I gain a sense of pathos, wisdom, and human compassion.
The opening senryū addresses the painful impacts of imbalanced growth in big cities and effectively highlights the hidden contradictions present in contemporary society.
graffiti art—
an old beggar pees
on revolution
It also allows the reader to explore the psychological insights of Kolkata’s social and urban landscape.
singing Tagore
on a ghat step…
two paper cones
Despite undergoing a challenging historical transition, the city has preserved its rich cultural heritage through cuisines, cinema, literature, architecture, music, nature, and subcultures. The book’s pairing of haikai poetry with food meditations is what sets it apart.
Seeking the ideal of fuga no makoto, or the truth of poetic art, Daipayan taps into the overtones of poetry to deflate the authority of the powerful.
late monsoon—
the tyre marks all over
a placard
This is remarkable even as policymakers struggle to address socio-economic issues amidst the turbulent political landscape. Like the opening senryū, the above haiku also demonstrates Daipayan’s unrestrained expressive spirit in telling muted stories that condemn the rising injustice and inequality in our society. When will things change? What is the process for the change to trickle down to every resident?
raining petals …
the street sweeper stretches
her spine
Every morning, the poet is capable of expressing his empathy for the entire city as if it were his own extended family. Whether it’s the barber, the street sweeper, labourers, or the idol maker, Daipayan’s verses motivate me to think outside my own limits. This is in the spirit of Bashō’s haikai, where the fate of the marginal figures pervades poetry and prose.
cold stare
two ladies face to face
in a tuk-tuk
By focusing on the evolution of various transportation facilities in the city, this book is infused with ikio (momentum).
Kolkata Biryani
she leaves her memory
on my tongue
It’s difficult to understand Kolkata without enjoying the mouth-watering Bengali delicacies.
Daipayan’s poetic skill invites the reader to imagine layered interpretations of the human tongue, considering its other equally important functions of language and silence.
By exploring vernacular terms such as chilekotha and Kobita Aabritti, this book offers an exquisite opportunity to travel and understand Mother India’s real resilience. This is also crucial for the advancement of Indian haikai culture.
returning home
on a hand-pulled rickshaw
school song
Daipayan skilfully uses the freedom of spontaneity to include memories that progress from his childhood to his youth, interspersed with powerful images of his family members’ moments.
extra red rice
my in-law inverts a bowlful
of her requests
With the book’s first family poem dedicated to his grandmother, Daipayan also vividly imagines her activities when she’s probably not around him.
pond sunrise—
grandma’s singing rinses
the taro roots
In Bashō’s style (Shōfū), “pond sunrise” also infuses the external landscape (kei) with human emotion or sentiment (jō).
summer sun
the mechanic oils
his chainring
With his thoughtful writing style, Daipayan expresses deep sincerity (fukai shinseriti) in his poetry.
This reminds me that there’s a lot of satirical potential when it comes to the topic of occupation and human conditions.
Off to work,
the burglar to his wife:
“Lock up tight when you go to bed!”
Yanagidaru
Vol. 24, Karai Senryū, compiler
Translation by Haruo
Shirane
The reader will be deeply moved by the role of women in Daipayan’s life.
agaru oil—
ma sprinkles her hymn
over the marigolds
He praises his mother’s ingenuity in creating her own hymn.
the journey
from me to us
a falling shiuli
Also an autumn kigo, shiuli flowers are offered to goddess Durga on the festival of Durga Puja. This verse gives a slight hint of “the spirit of going and returning” that was propounded by Dohō (1657–1730), Bashō’s most talented and faithful Iga disciple.
The title poem is outstanding for its expression of aesthetic tastes (biishiki).
Kolkata street corner—
the ten hands
of a fuchka seller
This elegant senryū exhibits humour, naturalness, and the unity of the author’s aesthetic moment. He is probably waiting for his turn to be served and observes the meditative power of the human feature called ‘hands.’ The fuchkawallah’s stall is one place to remind us to appreciate the joy of the present moment. The hand signifies the corporeal manifestation of the inner state of the human being, and its position in relation to the body conveys certain precise symbolic notions throughout the book.
The Ten Hands of a Fuchka Seller asks us to reflect on the qualities of cultured people beyond what we think of as culture. The book’s meticulous organization and beautiful photographs of Kolkata are a sight to see. Perhaps a photograph related to food could have been included for foreign readers.
I highly recommend this collection for its poetry, which are fine examples of Daipayan’s single-mindedness in his haikai practice.
Review by Richa Sharma
August 2024
Richa Sharma is a resident of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Her poetry has been featured in numerous online and print journals dedicated to short Japanese poetry since 2019. Her work has been appreciated in various international contests, and she also served as a panelist judge for the 2nd Trailblazer Contest in 2023.
return to Haiku Canada return to home page HCShoHyōRan