Dwi Akhar : Insight of Rural Garhwal

History of Poetry
History of Indian Literature
History of Himalayan Languages Literature
Critical History of Garhwali literature
Dwi Akhar : Insight of Rural Garhwal
(A review of Dwi Akhar a poetry collection of Uma Bhatt )
Bhishma Kukreti
As British admire the female poets as Ann Taylor, Juliet Wilson, Adrienne Rich, Ruth Padel, Claire Nixon, Sophie Hanah, Helen Dunmore, jenny Joseph for enriching English poetry, Italians appreciate the work of Italian female poets as Alda Merini, Anna Cascella, Amelia Rosselli, Cristina Campo, Armanda Guiducci, Dacia Maraini, Daria Menicanti, Margherita Guidacci, Rosana Ombers, Luciana Frezza, Biancamaria Frabotta ; Germans are proud of their female poets as Igeborg Bachmann, Lisel Muller; French people respect Anais Nin, Leslie Kaplan, Michelle Grangaud, Anne Portugal, Josse Caperer , Jacqueline Risset ; Spanish think highly of Sapnish female poets Pilar de Valderrama; Elisabeth Mulder; Rosa Chacel; Josefina de la Torre Concha Méndez; and Ernestina de Champourcin or critics appreciate the works of Hispanic women poets as Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, Isabel Allende, Julia de Burgos, Dutch are proud of Fenny Sterenborg , Carla Boogaards, Anna Enquist and Elly de Waard ; Uttarakhandi are proud of Garhwali women poets Vasundhara Dobhal, Vidyavati Dobhal, Veena Pani Joshi, Neeta Kukreti, Beena Benjwal, Beena Kandari, Shakuntala Ishtwal and Uma Bhatt for providing vibrant, intuitive, varied subject Garhwali language poems.

There are sixty poems in the volume Dwi Akhar a first Garhwali poetry collection by Uma Bhatt . The poems are of varied subject and nature , insight, emontions but one thing is common in all the poems that all poems are regarding rural Garhwal or hills of Uttarakhand. However, most of the poems are related to a common rural Garhwali woman and the subjects surrounding her .
The readers may find the spiritual inclination of a female poet when Uma Bhatt prays Jalmukhi god (Village deity) for her creation and for benefiting the human beings and living organisms. The readers enjoy the symbolic and imagery poems of Uma Bhatt about villages, geographical description of Upper Garhwal and Kedar valley. The readers start viewing the hills, springs, woods, scanty or dense bushes, xerophytes and other plants of Upper Garhwal, valleys, rivers and rivulets, birds and Himalayan animals, tracking lanes of villages, hilly farming fields, all types of seasons in verses as ‘ Ar Hyun Galni ‘, Gham , Veen Barkha Ma’, Matu Dharti, Ganga Jamuna.
The poet is successful in portraying the life sketch of female from child to being mother or grand mother in her as poems Myar Balpan , Gon Mudi Dhari’
She describes the seasons of Kedar valley differently than the poets of south Garhwal in verses ‘Vee barkha Ma’ or meghdoot Aige’
In the introductory note of this volume , renowned folk literature expert dr Data Ram Purohit says that Uma Bhatt has been successful in describing Kedar valley village life and culture of Nagpur , Badhan , Rudraprayag regions and the poems are of world class ..
Uma Bhatt also created poems related to various relationship, wrong happenings in social lives and political circle of Garhwal.
Famous garhwali story writers congratulate Uma Bhatt for her depicting the village life, the insight of rural women, the struggles of females in Garhwal and her narration of philosophical subjects as in ‘Waqt Beej Ni Khand’.
As Dr Data Ram Purohit appreciates Uma Bhatt for using common Garhwali symbols, proverbs, images, shorter verses of Garhwali folk stories or poems in her poetry. Bhishma Kukreti appreciates loudly Uma Bhatt for using regional dialects and protecting linguistic exclusivity and characteristics of Chamoli and Rudrprayag regions (Upper Garhwal) in her all verse of this volume ‘Dwi Akhar’.
Uma Bhatt has been successful in creating varied emotions in each poems of this volume and she is not stereotype in any poem
Australians are proud of their women poets as Dame Mary Gilmore, Dorothia Mackeller, Chris Mansell, Judith Wright; Japanese have pride on their female poets as Kimiko Hahn, Fukao Sumako, Yosano Akiko, Yagi Mikajo, Nakamura Teijo, Hashimoto Takako, Mitsuhashi Takajo, Baba Akiko, Anryu Suharu , Hatsui Sizue, Okamoto Kanoko Chino Masako, Uyemaruko Shizuko, Kikusha ni ; Korean love their women poets as Yi Hyangji, No Hyangnim, Na Huidok, Ho Sugyong, Pak Sowon, Ko Chinghai , Kim Sanghui, Yi Chinmyong, Kim Hyson, Hwang Insuk, Chong Hwajin, kang Ungayo, Mun Chonghui, Yi Kyongnim; Malaysians love the poetries of Dan Ying, (Madame Lew Poo Chan) ; same way Himalayan people are proud of Uma Bhatt a Garhwali language poet for her work in Garhwali language poetic field.
Dwi Akhar a Garhwali poetry collection
Poet: Uma Bhatt
Year of Publication: 2010
Publisher: Winsar Publication,
K C City Centre Dehradun, UK, India

Copyright @ Bhishma Kukreti, Mumbai, India , 2010