Chintu's Birth to colour of Silence

Satwik Mishra- a poet in the making

Last evening I had a phone call from an old student who introduced himself and mentioned the publication of his first work of poetry.  I was overcome with joy and for moment fumbled to recollect old memories. A collection of poems Colours of Silence is brought out by Partridge Publication, a sister concern of internationally renowned Penguin. For the time being this is available on the net edition and one can purchase for their ‘kindle’ reading. By the time I glanced through the book I could recollect the character and the sequence of events of the yester years…. My collection of books had his first hand made publication titled ‘Chintu’s Birth’ intact. I had repeatedly made its mention in the class for years to inspire other students.

 

A testimony of perseverance

Someday darkness will not have sturdy feet,

Someday, it won’t wear the mask of defeat.

But it shall regain another shape and new idea,

And creep into the vast oceans of life and death.

-          Satwik Mishra

I read through “In the last minute” of Colors of Silence, a collection of poems and amazed by the ability of this boy as he turned in a young man. I have been reading his writings since he was in class 7. That was my first year of service at Amrita Vidyalayam, Mysuru and was handling Science and English for his class. Being a class teacher I still have fond memories of that bright boy, Satwik who wrote stories and poems in the class.  He was a voracious reader and had finished reading all the poetry and fictions in the school Library. His affinity for literature was felt by his classmates and he had carved out a special niche for his taste for literature.

A teacher's best reward- a Student's  sincere effort  

One day he also came out with a self-published, home-made, handmade book. For him, a writer had dawned in his debut creation ‘Chintu’s Birth’. It was a neatly typed booklet with a jacket made of pink art card. There was no graphic on it but plain hand written text beautifully inscribed with a typo in the author’s name. There were a number of mistakes in the book but the joyous moment never made me look at that adventurous fete as an examination script. I was thoroughly impressed by the boldness of the boy in expressing his creativity and novelty. Many of his classmates would not have even made observations about the physical structure of a book. Many students will fail to recognise out of the way extra-curricular pursuits at that age and those of whom who pick up will sustain it for long. But Satwik is persistent in his literary creations. As a good sign his poems like ‘the Walk’, ‘the poem’ and ‘the last glance’ have appeared in Bizz-Buzz magazines.

He is growing up, literarily, intellectually, emotionally and academically. A second year student of engineering in SJCE, Mysuru, he is showing promises of being a potential writer. AS a teacher I anticipate more from his pen in the years to come. In Chintu’s Birth he wrote ‘I wish you would have liked the story. Well, Chintu was five year old. Well, see you in the next series’.  Years have passed; I have come to like his success story and waiting for the next series.

Post Script:

Shall I say that I taught this boy English in Seventh grade? Rather I choose to say I learned English better with him. Students like Satwik are a source of inspiration to learn for any teacher. I wish all success to this budding Indian poet.

- Geetha H