Rituparno , A Life Celebrated

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.

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.