Matryoshka by Dr. Divya Joshi is a heart-touching collection of a hundred poems that reflect a medley of human emotions. Creating poetic pieces has always been a daunting task when compared to several other literary genres, such as novels, stories, and essays, among others. Poets are divinely gifted individuals who possess heightened sensitivity and the ability to channelize their pent-up pile of feelings in a sublime and subtle manner. Having read this poetic collection, Divya must be appreciated for several reasons, one of which is her remarkable creativity, elegantly depicted in every line she puts on her paper canvas.
The narrative of ‘Matryoshka’ is constructed around four sections: ‘Pretenses,’ ‘Silence,’ ‘Romance,’ and ‘Siblings.’ Individual poems are enthralling and also retain the ability to convey discrete and deeply moving stories. Although, on the surface, they appear to be isolated segments, the poet has harmonized them all in such a commendable manner that they eventually emerge as a unified whole.
William Butler Yeats, who is believed to be the father of the Symbolist Movement in literature, sounds quite pertinent when he remarks that symbolism is the heart of all poetry. Here, in harmony with the poet, it can be aptly articulated that the subtle and profound semantics that are the hallmark of meritorious poetry can only be expressed with the deft usage of symbols. Here, the fact cannot be refuted that Divya’s poetry is richly loaded with deep symbolism.
Shedding light on a few symbols, such as stacking dolls, which are associated with family and fertility in Russian culture, they beautifully symbolize the unity between mind, body, spirit, heart, and soul.
A true Indian at heart, who is strongly attached to her roots, Divya’s poetic canvas contains several colors of Indian mysticism and philosophy.
Indian philosophy gives credence to the fact that all matter pervasive on this earth is basically composed of five basic elements—panchamahabhutas—which inherit the properties of earth (prithvi), water (jala), fire (tejas), wind (vayu), and space (akasha).
Exploring the deeper philosophical layers, this anthology reflects on the inextricable bond between Man and Nature, wherein the metaphor of nesting dolls, Matryoshka in the title, stands for Prithvi (Mother Earth), and the four sections signify the elements of cosmic creation. It would not be erroneous to state that Matryoshka is an inexplicably unique collection of poems that sheds a flood of light on the journey of life in its kaleidoscopic forms.
Embarking upon her poetic journey, somewhat similar to John Keats, Divya prefers to convey her thoughts through images rather than words. Keats, known for his pictorial quality and sensuousness, has inspired a generation of modern-day poets, and Divya arguably appears to be one among them. The choice of lexical items and syntax is a painstaking process that every poet has to undergo. There is a lot of mending and un-mending that goes into creating a superlatively sublime poetic piece. The poet of this anthology has, without a doubt, been quite spontaneous, but she does not refrain from unstitching and restitching her verses. Her choice of poetic diction elevates her in our estimation when we delightfully find that her words directly emanate from her heart. The style of writing, leavened with complexity-free syntax, bedecks her with the status of a people’s poet rather than a poet’s poet. The entire poetic carpet offers an ample glimpse of her creative journey. Therefore, it would not be hyperbolic to comment that this anthology is a great delight to the devotees of poetic nuggets.”
Dr. Navneet Kaur is a renowned critic and reviewer.