Enchanting world of infants
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BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS
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Language: English
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About the book |
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INTRODUCTION
The world of infants is at once physical and metaphysical. The fusion of the immanent and the transcendental, the human and the divine, makes this world an irresistible realm of enchantment and fantasy, dream and fact. Charming little angels as they are, infants are the embodiment of a global human oneness. Yet, each one of them is different and each has a distinct personality right from birth, nay, even while they are conceived. And before they sprout in their mothers’ wombs to begin that fabulous nine-month intra-natal course, they are differently envisioned in the minds of their parents and grandparents and in that of the Creator. They behave differently and invoke different feelings in their parents even in their embryonic and foetal stages - each enchanting in its own way. From conception to birth, expectation and enchantment encapsulate the infant’s arrival in the world of adults. Each infant has a chequered course right since that stupendous moment of migration from the quiet sanctuary of the inner cosmos in the mother’s womb to the outer cosmos, undertaking heroically the first challenge of the maiden breath after birth - the inaugural step of an uncharted terrestrial journey across the uneven terrain of human existence. And then the trials and tribulations - the feeding and sleeping, the bibs and diapers, the cribs and cots, the vibrators and bouncers, the prams and strollers, the toys and dolls, the visits to the doctors, the coughs and colds, the runny noses and funny tummies, and the daily, monthly and yearly milestones - as they sportingly ride over the vicissitudes - learning to sit, crawl and walk, to be part of the family and to communicate in so many ways, creating a brave new world around them with their insatiable desire for independence and exploration, their amazing skills and learning capabilities, their imagination and creativity, their anxieties and fears. There is a mystique, a magical aura about this unique infant world, which seeks expression in so many ways. What do they think about themselves and the cosmos they create around them, these infants – pure and innocent, unselfish and ingenuous, generous and loving, engaging and enchanting? What are their feelings, what do they dream about and what would they speak in case the embryos and foetuses and infants in the formative years could do so, or after they actually speak the first words? What passes through the minds of parents and grandparents - their thoughts and feelings, their fears and hopes - about their growing infants as they go about their parenting and grand-parenting roles? A cumulative creative compendium of this enchanting world of the infant is what I have attempted to pen down in the poems of this anthology. The poems in this collection have been inspired by the birth of our grandchildren in USA where our two daughters immigrated after their marriage. My wife, Leela, and I managed to visit them from India from time to time, being physically present at the time of the birth of each grandchild, a few weeks before and after. But our communication channels - through letters, e-mails and phone calls - remained alive even when we were away, and the rest was dreaming and desiring, insight and imagination. It has been an undivided attention and adoration for these infants. In the process we have been blessed many times over. We have rediscovered the infant world of our own daughters, part of which had escaped us during our busy lives when we were in our parenting roles. We have discovered the beautiful world of our grandchildren - their innocence, their divinity, their universality,  their deep sagacity. We have drunk the abundant nectar of their love, and savoured the rapturous joy of their hypnotic charm.Since each of our three grandchildren has, at one time or the other, provided the backdrop and the inspiration for these poems, they are accordingly referred to either by their names or the gender (he or she) in some of the poems. The poems are arranged according to the chronological and functional age to which they belong and not the dates when they have been written. They have been grouped into sections highlighting milestones. Of course, this is an arbitrary division because days, months and years coalesce in human existence into one imperceptible whole. Most of the poems are in the first person of the foetus/infant, the parents and grandparents. A few of them are in the second and third person as well, giving the entire work a diversified poetic narrative. There is no attempt at didacticism, nor any desire to impart lessons in parenting or grand-parenting. Kundan Lal Chowdhury |
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| Love Song of Childhood (Theme Song) |
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| Let us play childhood, let us play love, let us soar together, to the heavens above. Let us rock in the cradle, let us roll in the pram, let us row in the boat, let us ride on the tram. Let us hail the spring, let us swing in the breeze, let us watch the flowers, let us climb the trees. Let us cross the Vitasta let us swim in the Dal let us dance at Nishat let us sail to Manasbal. Let us play peek-a-boo, let us play shells, let us play butter-thief, let us play marbles. Let us read fairy tales, let us sing merry rhymes, let us paint with crayons, let’s strike temple chimes. Let us scale the hills, let us ramble in the valleys, let us play the flute, let us dance with the gopis. Let us sing childhood let us sing love let us together discover childhood’s treasure trove. |
Notes: Vitasta – a river flowing through the Kashmir valley . Nishat - a lovely garden on the banks of the Dal, the famous lake of Srinagar. Manasbal - a natural lake 20 miles north of Srinagar in Kashmir Butter thief – the infant Krishna (Hindu god) who loves to tease the milkmaids, stealing butter from them. Gopis.- belles of Gokul who loved to dance with Krishna and hear the mesmerising notes of his flute.
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| About the Author | |
 *Dr. K L Chowdhury retired as a Professor of Medicine, Medical College, Srinagar. Presently he is the Director of a charitable institution, Shriya Bhatt Mission Hospital and Research Center, Durga Nagar, Jammu.He is a physician and neurologist, a medical researcher, poet, social activist. He writes on diverse subjects ? medical, literary, social and political and has numerous research papers to his credit, his pioneering work being ?The Health Trauma in a Displaced Population? which was presented at national and international conferences. He was declared Shehjar's 'Kashmiri Person of the year'for 2007. |
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Peacock Books, (India).