Bespectacled
eyes, a mass of unruly curls, attired in kurta –pyjama...Kajal-rimmed eyes,
Sunset Boulevard turbans, flowing outfit and the dangling earrings...a
transformation from Rituparno to being Rituparno and his experiment with
alternative sexuality. The things that remained constant were an erudite,
articulate disposition with a keen acumen of seducing hyper aestheticism.
Rituparno, a life of audacity, a life well-lived with a singular cinematic
vision and elephantine knowledge of human relationships layered with vivid
dimensions of interpersonal angst. A film director of national and
international acclaim, he painted picture with his moving emotional quotient
that crossed narrow shackles of reality and provided the viewers with the
strength to go beyond.
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| Picture courtesy: HT |
Let me
sing a dirge, dear readers, for this soul immortal. Let me feel the
inextricable oneness with the intellect and passion that Rituparno
epitomizes...
Sackcloth and Ashes
A bloated throat wake me up this morning
Some uncanny resonance with a flash
Mephistopheles at your doorstep. Oh, Faustus!
Leave those scattered contention,
Remnants you found within.
Wriggle your path by those thick evenings
Those penetrating rumination,
Those affable agonies vaccinated into my
soul
“I hate life being caged”, you said. Oh,
Doyen!
Those exasperated thoughts, hefty
forebodings.
You traded your days for grasping
inspiration
The unheard whispers, the clenched up faces,
The worn-out fatigue, the palsied rage
The emotions to switch between. Oh, Master!
The world you gave your own translation.
Some covetous landlord, an appalling life,
A vindictive widow or a self-deluded man
A cob-webbed relation with grey eyes
Coveting shadow dreams. Oh, Swashbuckler!
You captured with discarded strife.
Flowering reflection of yours furnished my
valise
And made my perception pregnant with musing.
Valediction with sackcloth and ashes,
With a dominion of spirit and impregnable
soul, oh, Artisan!
Thou now rest in peace.
N.B. The poem had been published in “The Criterion-An International Journal in English” in its August, 2013 issue after the unfortunate demise of the great craftsman on 30th May,2013.
