Rohan Chhetri's work spins a tale of two nations

Bengaluru: They say writing poetry is often like painting a piece of art. Handpicked colours come together and reveal a masterpiece. Nepali- Indian poet Rohan Chhetri’s poems are something of that sort.

With a generous amount of imagery, his longish narratives are infused with different tales --- the chaos of a big city, finding love and failing at it, social justice and asking questions about his identity. “For a boy who just passed out of high school in a small town like Kalimpong, moving to a city as busy as Mumbai … let’s just say it can really leave an impression on a young poet’s mind. It is chaotic, violent, wild and raw, alienating and embracing at the same time,” he says nostalgically, “this was where I really started writing seriously.” Being a student of literature he consumed classical English poetry by the dozen, but it was only when he read Indian poets that he got a taste of emotions a lot closer to home.

“I was reading a lot…a lot. Dalit poets, Marathi poets, Jayanta Mahapatra, Adil Jassawala, Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, I read and read,” he says and smiles, “and that gave me a sense of local realities and got me thinking.”

As for his long narrations, he says, he loves that it gives him space to ‘wander’. “I can move through dreams, memories, places…I can be anywhere,” he says in a matter of fact tone, “but that is my poetry. It’s much more intelligent than me.”

Chhetri, whose debut book of poems Slow Startle, received great response not only from readers but critics as well reveals that it took him about six years to put it together. “I can tell you the exact time, 2011. I started writing it then and finally decided to put it out in 2016,” says the 29-year-old. Slow Startle is a journey, he believes. The period shaped his perceptions gradually and that is visible in his poems as the book progresses. “You see the progression. In technique, in narration, in concepts and I wanted it to that way. The way I perceived things because of where I was from and the way the displacements in geography honed them reflects in the book,” he explained.

His bi-cultural identity is also a part of the journey. “I don’t know if I’ll still call myself a Nepali-Indian in the next book, but in this one there was a cultural element that lays heavy.” he says. In the age of Instagram poetry, what defines a decent poem? The answer is quite simple, he says. “There are of course ways of looking at technicality but poetry isn’t meant for that. Poetry in its basic form is meant to make you feel…a shiver when you hear it. It is something that practically assaults you and changes your sensibilities.”  The poet was featured in the Bengaluru Poetry Festival alongside poet Arjun Rajendran.