Nude: Poems

by Vishal Bhardwaj, Sukrita Paul Kumar (Translator)

All of us know Vishal Bhardwaj as a film-maker whose films have consistently pushed the envelope and as a composer who has churned out some of the biggest chart-toppers in recent years. Here's presenting him in a new a poet. Over the course of these twenty-five ghazals and an equal number of nazms, Vishal comes across as a poet with a distinctive voice and a style all his own. Whether it is a romantic ode pulsating with an intense passion or yearning, or a bitter, ironic comment on the state of the nation, a gentle sense of wonder, an undeniable rhythm and a subtle intrigue pull one into the poems in Nude, both in the original Hindustani alongside their English translation by Sukrita Paul Kumar. Unusual imagery, an evocative style and an idiom that is contemporary, yet reminiscent of the old-world charm of the Hindi and Urdu poetic traditions, each poem is wrapped in mystique. The Internet and Mirza Ghalib on the roads of Mumbai happily coexist in these poems, offering an insight into how contradictions can be reconciled simply and ingeniously.

Genres: Poetry, Indian Literature

125 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 25, 2018

About the author

Intro- https://www.vaidhvik.com/p/blog-page....

Reviews

[Manan Desai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first collection of renowned script writer, lyricist, director, producer and music director Vishal Bhardwaj. Poems, foreword by Gulzar and preface are written in Hindi with English translation of poems given on the opposite pages. While Hindi poems would reasonably good and simple, their English version is lost in translation.

Many of these poems are written for a lover of an unknown gender as Hindi language gives you that freedom by using respectful pronouns. Same is not the case for their English counterparts. Overall, English translation lacks certain something.

It's a casual, not too deep, not too shallow collection of verses. Do give it a try if you can read Hindi. Not much to be gained for English readers.

Eponymous couplet is as follows:

Look at the nude painting closely
what purity radiates from it

[Arifur Rahman Nayeem · Rating 3 out of 5]

শুধু পরিচালক হিসেবে নন, বিশাল ভারদ্বাজ প্রযোজক, চিত্রনাট্যকার, সঙ্গীত পরিচালক ও সুরকার হিসেবেও আমার সমান পছন্দের। ফলে তাঁর কবিতার বই বের হয়েছে জানার পর থেকেই পড়ার অপেক্ষায় ছিলাম। অবশেষে পড়া হলো। ভালোও লাগল। যৎকিঞ্চিৎ হিন্দি অক্ষরজ্ঞান থাকায় কষ্টেসৃষ্টে দুইটা কবিতা হিন্দিতেই পড়েছি ইংরেজি অনুবাদ কেমন হয়েছে বোঝার জন্য। বুঝলাম, ইংরেজি অনুবাদ খুব বেশি ভালো হয়নি। আর হচ্ছে, কবিতায় মাঝেমধ্যে গুলজারের প্রভাব উঁকিঝুঁকি মারছিল ভালোভাবেই।

[Zeeshan · Rating 5 out of 5]

विशाल एक जादूगर है !!

[Neelima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nude is the first collection of poems(ghazals and nazms) by the juggler of Indian Cinema, Vishal Bhardwaj. As the title suggests, each poem is an act of baring the soul layer by layer. We get a peek into the deepest thoughts and emotions of the poet and even the doubts he encounters in his capacity as a poet, as in a nazm Ghalib listens to his poetry only to be saddened by them. The metaphors used are fresh but at no point do they feel unfamiliar or far-fetched, they give the impression that Mr. Bhardwaj observes the everyday world with the eyes of a poet in one of his nazms he compares the effects of love to that of common-cold. His hold on Hindustani is excellent but the poems are also a sample in Indian English. They are written in the same ease in which Indians today switch between their mother tongues and English. What is delightful to look at is that the English script has been retained for English words, instead of using transliteration. The attempt shows how easily Indians have become bilingual, at least. The poems are effortlessly lyrical but also pregnant with meaning. His poems range from those on social issues to ones that seem to have sprung from personal experiences. Some have love as their subject while others are a reflection on his self, some others are his thoughts on people around him. He attributes his influences to Dr. Bashir Badr and Gulzar and these stalwarts of Urdu poetry often echo in his poems.

However, the translations by Sukrita Paul Kumar do not seem to reach the core of the originals, while some appear to be literal translations, others completely miss out on the essence. The problem seems to be that the translator could not commit. While at some places she prioritizes the sense over the form, at others she reaches out for the rhythm, at some places she tries to emulate in English the rhythm that is innate to Hindustani, it is a daring attempt but the result is mostly awkward. Nevertheless, the translations should be praised for trying to be Indian English rather than English in their nature, at some places they are truly delightful for their sheer gusto, as in she retains terms like "roti" and "Film-wallahs" in her translations. It is a point to be considered by translators in India, translation is an opportunity to add the flavour of Indian English to English, it is an opportunity to push boundaries and see what is possible. In that sense, these translations are commendable.

Nude should be read by those who love Hindustani and those who love poetry.

[Antonio D’Cruz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nude Poems: This book is a poetry collection written by famous film producer and director Vishal Bhardwaj. The poetry in this book consists ghazals and nazms. Vishal is an excellent filmmaker but poetry seems not to be his forte. Very few lines from this collection will touch the readers. Most of the ghazals and poetry are ordinary. It appears that collection was published in haste. The writer could wait for some quality work from his pen and then after go for a book to be published. In his forward the writer claims that his poetry is like copy of Gulzar’s poetry but his work is not anywhere close to Gulzar’s legendary writing style. The forward of book is written by none other than Gulzar with whom the writer is associated for long in the field of film making. All the poems are in Hindi as well as English. English translation is very poor. You will not enjoy and feel the poetry in English version as the soul of poetry is lost in the translation. In fact, translation of Hindi poetry in English is very tedious job. The beauty of Hindi and Urdu words and phrases cannot be actually reflected in English properly. You can try this book just because it’s penned by a film celebrity Vishal Bhardwaj but if you want to really enjoy Hindustani poetry this is not a book for you. And about the title of book that is ‘Nude Poems’, Vishal only can tell why he named this collection as Nude Poems. On back cover of the book, one sher is published which reads -ग़ौर से देखो nude painting को, कितनी पाकीज़गी झलकती है and it’s English translation ‘Look at the nude painting closely, What purity radiates from it.’ This high priced book doesn’t justify its price. You can read this hundred pages book in one go within an hour if you wish to try it.

[Tejas Modhvadia · Rating 1 out of 5]

ये दोस्त जो तोहफ़े में किताबें देतें हैं शायद पिछले जन्म में आशिक़ रहें होंगे। @dollythakkar7 और @ar.veeram को aesthetics की गहरी समज है, चीजें बड़े प्यार से ढूँढ लातें हैं और अपने होने से उन्हें संजोते हैं। किताबें भेंट करने से कहानियाँ बनतीं हैं, ये व्यवहार चलते रहना चाहिए, ख़ासकर इस दौर में जब किताबें कॉफ़ी से सस्ती हुईं हैं पर सही किताब ढूँढना उतना ही कठिन काम है। कवि का नाम, किताब का नाम, फ़ॉरवर्ड और मुखपृष्ठ बेहद आकर्षक हैं। इस किताब को चुनने में इन सबकी मुख्य भूमिका रही होगी। @harpercollinsin ने अपना काम बखूबी किया है ।

@vishalrbhardwaj जीतने बेहतरीन कहानीकार, संगीत सम्राट और गायक हैं उतने ही बुरे शायर हैं। शायरी शायद एक वक़्त के बाद आपको छोड़ देती है। वो सही वक़्त होता है शायरी की कसी हुए बाहों से बच निकलने का नहीं तो गीले शिकवे होने लगतें हैं। गुलज़ार साब फॉरवर्ड लिखते हुए शायद बाप-धर्म निभा रहे थे पर मोह में माँ का प्यार जता बैठें हैं। काश आज @irrfan ज़िंदा होते तो उनकी आवाज़ में सारी बेजान नज़्में दौड़ लगा रहीं होतीं। आपकी इरफ़ान के पीछे लिखी स्क्रिप्ट जैसे दिल चीर कर निकली थी उसका हर शब्द शायराना था। पुरानी डायरी ढूँढे, शायद वहाँ कोई शायरी ज़िंदा मिलेगी और इसे वापिस मँगवालें। आप जो चाहे करें, शायरी न करें।

मैज़ पर पड़ी बहुत खूबसूरत दिखती है किताब, यह मेरे छिछले intellectual होने का प्रमाण देती रहेगी, जल्द इसको रिप्लेस किया जाएगा। जगह बनाई जाएगी।
अब अंदर बैठा बुद्ध इतना कड़वा बोलने पर कोस रहा है।
क्षमा प्रार्थी हूँ।

[dunkdaft · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of 'hat ke' poems. As expected, he is in the Gulzar league. Doesn't limit himself at using authentic language and mixes up English words in the poetry. Giving a light, savoring flavor. And yes, translation is also up to the mark.

[Sharan Ahluwalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who likes Bhardwaj's work and words will find his first collection to be a true friend serving verses and poems like hugs you didn't know you needed.

[Bharathi Heathens · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the poem I start to fall in love with it cause those words are realistic and I loved it.

[Rashika · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good attempt by the Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer in the not so new field for him. I got the signed copy of the book from him at Jashn-e-Rekhta'18 in Delhi.
.
He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards in four categories. However, his writing felt as if a naive got a professional debut because of his network.
.
I believe he should have taken a bit of more time to refine his writings. The foreword by the legend, Gulzar definitely gave the book a push. The English translations were definitely a blot. It felt like somebody used a translation app and wrote the output as it is.
.
I am sure that Vishal ji would excel in this field too, if gives a bit more time to himself and his writing.