Searching
for a Flower
By the
Vietnamese poet Mai Van Phan
Translated
into English
By Pompen
Hantrakool
Explicated
by
Dr Rammesh
Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
Text
Following a
fragrance
Around
mountains
Some sharp
stony slopes found
Explication
The poet may
be in course of his aimless wanderings in Nature came across a small pond
beside a hill and he saw a mountain cliff reflected on the waters of the pond.
A mountain cliff could be the abode of gods or some utopian people who live
away from the madding crowds ignoble strife.A mountain is always difficult to
climb. Thus mountains protect the nobler souls from being harassed by the
humdrum and hurly burly of human life of
the world.Be that as it may the mountain peaks or the abode of gods or of the
nobler souls do not always remain hidden from the ken of human perception. They
are reflected on small ponds even,
provided their waters are clean and clear. They are reflected on the minds of
the ordinary men even ,provided their minds are clean unpolluted by anger jealousy
and greed. May be the poet saw a mountain reflected on his own mind. He saw the
mountain peak the abode of gods and saints in a vision as it were. And he set
out for the mountain peak. Was he keen
on meeting Au Co the mother of the
Vietnamese people? On the road he had fresh visions about mankind. Are they
mere spiders dreaming that they are men? Or else did he see a spider
hanging upon a sleek web of make believe
thinking that it is human. The spider was dreaming that it was a man. Are we
insects such as a spider dreaming that we are humans.Is the world a dream? May
be to learn the truth about the existence the poet was drawn to the
mountain.Soon the twilight lit landscape showed up surrounded by homing birds.
And then there was a bell that tolled the knell of parting day.The sound of the
bell drives away evil spirits and and
prompts mindfulness. Thus sojourning
along the road of spiritual quest and experiencing countless sights and
sounds the poet has reached the foot of the mountain that he saw in a vision.
But alas! The poet does not find any way up.Is the mountain very steep? It is
said that the road to truth and knowledge is difficult to access.
In Bunyans
Pilgrims Progress Christian is lost over and over again on his way to God.
The evangelist appears over and over again to guide him through the encircling
gloom.In Indian myths it is often a dog or a jackal who shows the way. It was
Vergil who functioned as a guide to Dante. A chance fragrance however beacons
the poet.The fragrance is surely engrossing.Instead of finding a path to climb
the mountain the poet surely seeks the source of the fragrance. On the surface
the fragrance could be one of a flower or of a herb. But nay everything in this
existence has its own fragrance and very few poets are aware of it. Besides
there could be the fragrance of fairies guardian angels ancestors dragons and
so on. Furthermore there could be unembodied fragrance as well that could
engross the senses as well as the brain.The poet drawn to find the source of
the fragrance is diverted from his object of climbing the mountain. There is
apparently a digression in the narrative. But nay. To the surprise of the
readers the poet running in quest of the fountain head of fragrance reaches a
place where sharp stony slopes are
found.That is some benevolent spirit leads the poet to the inclined path to the
mountain top. We imagine the poet Mai
Van Phan going higher and higher still along the slope in quest of the source
of the fragrance which he believes to be a flower. But who knows what will
befall him? It could be the mysterium tremendum
before which we are tongue tied
The poet Mai
Van Phan could be described as a person who is fragrance struck and who has set
out to seek the source and origin of the fragrance.
Poetry
pleases us with fine excess. The pleasures of reading poetry could be likened
to the pleasures of inhaling the fragrance of a flower.The poet wants to go
deep into the meaning of poetry or excelsior to higher planes of meaning of
poetry
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