User:Rinkumani Kakati/sandbox/5x10 sonnets of Life

5x10 Sonnets of Life is a collection of sonnets composed in English by Rinkumani Kakati, a teacher of English at Asom valley Academy Junior College, Nalbari, Assam, India. The poetry book was launched on 1st October 2019 in the Freshers Social of Asom valley Academy Junior College, Nalbari. Dr. Krishna Chandra Goudo, the principal of MNC Valika Mahavidyalaya, Nalbari as well as Birubala Rabha, the noted social activist took part in the inauguration ceremony of the book. Most probably, 5x10 Sonnets of Life is the first poetry book of sonnets composed in English in the whole North-East Indian literature. Here is the Preface to 5x10 Sonnets of Life: Preface to 5x10 Sonnets of Life...                                    Birth of a poet...   In school days, while preparing for HSLC Examination, "Your favorite author" was one of the most probable topics for the English Exam. It goes without saying that Lakhshminath Bezbaruah was my favorite and I had crammed the essay to the utmost. In the long run of student life. most of the parts of the essay have been forgotten.but one stanza that I still remember distinctly."In the preface of Podum Kuwori(poetry), Bezbaruah wrote-I wrote these without any seriousness. I had the only one thought in mind, which was to compose something. if it would be poems, it would definitely be fine. If it would not be, that would also be nice." Being inspired by these words, I started jotting down some of my feelings. That is the way this poet was born...                                     I am not a poet..... Honestly speaking, I am not a poet. I think I do not qualify to be a poet. But I have always been inspired by William Wordsworth's definition of Poetry. "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions." Similarly, I also tried to jot down whatever spontaneous feelings came into my mind. so, like Lakshminath Bezbaruah, I just filled up the white papers with the blue ink of emotions. Whether these are poems or not, it is up to the readers to consider. Why sonnet...? Sonnets have not been a popular form of writing poems in the literature of Modern Age. By degrees, fewer sonnets have been practised by the poets. At present, in Indian literature as well as in Assamese literature, fewer sonnets have been composed. So, there would be an obvious and simple question about why sonnets have been chosen. First of all, we were introduced to Sonnets with "SOKULO" (The tears...), composed by master poet himself, Hiteshwar Barbaruah. Later on, going through the legendary sonnets of William Shakespeare, I just fell in love with this trend of poetry. So, I decided to take the road not taken by contemporary poets. Moreover, sonnets seemed to be an easy medium to express all my emotions just in fourteen lines. For all these reasons, I determined to compose sonnets...                               Are these really sonnets? No, these 5x10 sonnets, in the true sense, are not those traditional sonnets at all. In spite of being a lover of Shakespearean sonnets, I never followed him. I did not follow any other rules of sonnets too. These may be categorized as sonnets in the sense of 14 lines only. At first, no iambic pentameter is followed here. Moreover, the rhyme scheme abab-cdcd-efef-gg of a sonnet too is absent in most of the sonnets, except for the first ten as well as the last fifteen sonnets. For me, poetry should be spontaneous, no rules should be followed while composing it. In addition, I am not among all those genius poets who followed all the terms and conditions in their creations. Besides, I wished to break the barriers and traditional ways with a view to creating a new trend of modern sonnets. I apologize to you for my daring adventure. Challenges behind "5x10 sonnets of Life".... It was not an easy task at all to publish a collection of poems. Composing poetry in English, especially sonnets by a youth, who had been completely educated in Assamese medium, was full of much more challenging tasks. Many persons inspired me a lot. On the contrary, many scholars discouraged me too. In Panbazar, a couple of requests had been made to many publishers. But I had to face rejection. It is a natural act and I have no complaints. At the same time, many calamities had been thrown into my life while composing "5x10 Sonnets of Life". However, I honestly believe that everything happens for a good reason. This too happened for my good. "Calamity has hardened me, tempered me and I will turn my broken mind into steel." Finally, Paolo Coelho retrieved me-"When you want something from the extreme core of heart, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it..." What is within "5x10 Sonnets of Life".... "I strove with none, for none was worth my strife:                    Nature I loved and next to Nature, Art:                     I warmed both hands before the fire of life;                        It sinks: and I am ready to depart" -Walter Savage Landor Of course, nature has been my love, life and, everything. It has been my constant source of all my thoughts. The depth of the mystery in Nature has always been questioned in these poems. Besides, you may regard this as a shadow of own life. Almost all the characters and situations are real. I have been writing the diary since my college days. These sonnets have been collected from those diaries. Most of the poems were composed at RCC-2 Boys' Hostel while studying at Gauhati University. Along with my own life, some current issues and burning topics are also visualized here through my own vision. Some of the poems are liberally left to the humble consideration of the readers. In addition, some of the poems dealt with the nihilism attitude of life which was applied by Martin Heidegger (1888-1976). By all means, "5x10 sonnets of Life" is a self-portrait of a nature lover who has encountered all those real characters as well as fantasies. To my readers...... It was my job to capture the spontaneous feelings on white paper for you. Now it is your turn to interpret all those emotions through your realization. I have no liberty to go against your intellectual judgment. All your invaluable criticism would be my source of creativity. Finally, I apologize to you for anything in this work that may find hurtful. That is purely unintentional on my part. Thanking you, Rinkumani Kakati....