The Unfold Pinnacle

Basanta Kumar Kar

Review by Alyce Wilson

Through a series of poems, Basanta Kumar Kar illuminates the experiences of a variety of Indian women. All of them share a common characteristic: they are the overlooked, the undervalued. Whether survivors of refugee camps, sex workers, poverty-stricken widows, or HIV-positive patients, they are the voiceless segments of Indian culture, the women who seldom get a chance to tell their stories.

Kar tells each poem in first person, depicting the inner thoughts of each of these women, with a notation at the bottom describing each one's circumstance. Although English is a second language for Kar, meaning that he occasionally writes in overly formal diction, his use of detail provides an emotional subtext for these slices of life.

He uses metaphor skillfully, as these speakers, through describing what they see, give voice to their circumstances. Such as in "Label," where a 26-year-old HIV-positive widow observes:

Chilled winter waves spread tantrums
I roll the grass coiled
warm and chill play games of mouse and cat
my feeble roof sends a message
stars farewell
empty lap longs for my siblings
oh! no! I can not get back again.

If these poems are political, it is through showing, in detail, a segment of the population not often depicted. Through sharing their stories, Kar gives validity to their concerns and shows, at the same time, the resiliency of human spirit.

Rating: ** (Fair)

Self-published by the author, 2009.