in Jaydeep Sarangi’s The Wall and Other Poems (2015) and Birbhadra Karkidholi’s Pristine Stroke (2015): A Comparative Study SULAKSHNA SHARMA Birbhadra Karkidholi, from Assam, and Jaydeep Sarangi, from West Bengal, are very poignant, profound and perspicacious poets. Their latest poetry collections – Birbhadra Karkidholi’s Pristine Stroke (2015, a collection of thirty -six selected poems translated by Srijana Subba from Nepali to English) and Jaydeep Sarangi’s The Wall and Other Poems (2015), a collection of forty - eight poems – carry the indigenous flavours of their respective states. The poets become the eyes and the ears of the readers and show them the landscape, the animals, the plants, the mountains, the rivers, the village roads, the homes, the cities of the plac es they hail from. In fact, their poems open up many windows to their respective cultures, languages, traditions, and the quintessential hallmarks of their states. Interestingly , their poems like the branches of trees spread outwards, way beyond the borde rs of their respective states, while still remaining firmly rooted in the soil of their motherland. This can, specifically , be said about Sarangi who, indeed, as mentioned in the foreword to his book, “lives locally but thinks globally” (5). Most of Karkidholi’s poems acquire their universal appeal due to the fact that they refer and cater to humanity in general. Nevertheless, the poems in both the books are rich in images that evoke powerful abstractions. Karkidholi Page 60  Labyrinth : ISSN 0976-0814 (Vol.8 - No.2, July 2017) and Sarangi draw images from various nat ural, mythological, historical, religious and manmade sources. There are concrete images that convey thoughts and emotions that mystify and befog the mind; and then, gradually , like dew drops trickle down to the heart. Karkidholi’s image of the Himalaya a nd Sarangi’s image of the wall are conspicuous due to their recurrences in a number of poems in the books, respectively . In his poem, ‘The Himalaya’ (27), Karkidholi paints the image of the one of the greatest mountain ranges and uses it as a symbol or as an objective correlative of his own feelings and ideas. The poet personifies the Himalaya, comparing it to a sage in the first stanza of the poem – ” That sage is meeting his fellow sage [the poet] ” (27). Gradually , the character of the great Himalaya is b uilt. It becomes a symbol of something that is timeless, intrepid and stoical; yet, humble, honest and magnanimous: From time immemorial The snow has been melting down, Never has the Himalaya lost its height Never is the Himalaya Ever terrified of the warmth of the sun. Never has the Himalaya for sleep Sold its dream Never has the Himalaya told ‘I am so tall.’ Distributing snow and frost The Himalaya has not become lesser; Allured by beauty , never has the Himalaya Grown flowers on its shoulders. (6-18) For the poet, the Himalaya is an old friend, someone he knows very intimately . The poet suggests the specious, conceited, gluttonous, transient man to learn morality , humility and munificence from this stationary expert on life. The Himalaya, thus described, evokes the image of a vulnerable, Sulakshna Sharma  Page 61 formidable, wise old man who knows the flaws of his children but never preaches; instead, he patiently , waits for the time and experience to teach them the tough lessons of life. Clearly , the Himalaya is Karkidholi ’s prid e, his credo; and, a source of mental strength and inspiration for his poems, in particular, and life, in general. In the same vein, Karkidholi, in his poem ‘Mountains are Declared Himalaya’ (42), again tries to justify the veracity of his acquaintance with the Himalaya. He maintains that On the last dusk of December Because of the heavy snowfall The jet-black rocky mountains, And the heights —Totally covered with white snow— Declared themselves Himalaya Presumed themselves Himalaya. On my part, I kept on reminding, reminding The rocky mountains The