Poetry is intrinsic to Saranya Francis’ identity. “Every poem gives me strength. If everything else fails, my words will remain to give me strength. If everyone else is being unreasonable, my poetry will give me justice.”
Saranya, who works as a freelance life skills trainer, has written her first anthology of poetry, Being Purple. It was launched by Prakash Belawadi, who said the poems have a “ghazal-like quality”, and Akkai Padmashali, transgender rights activist.
Her love for poetry evident, Saranya explains the essence of the book. “Purple has been representative of feminine voices, reflected in the works of Maya Angelou and Alice Walker. Most of the poems in the book deal with people discovering that voice. One of the poems is Abandoned . Not in the sense of being abandoned, but of being carefree and not being held back, of letting go of worries and anxiety,” says the vivacious Saranya.
Her inspiration comes from everyday occurrences. “Every poem is a result of some event. I wrote Conform or Perish after I watched a documentary film on transgender people and their rights. It’s about how if someone doesn’t conform to society’s expectations, they wouldn’t be accepted by society. I write of others’ experiences as much as I write about my own. The poems address every woman. An experience is an experience, whether you are part of it or not.”
It is said that poetry is not every writer’s art form. “I believe everybody is a poet at some realm. What one writes, says or does can be poetic. I write poetry because I have to and I want to write poetry. Poetry is what I know.” Saranya prefers to express herself through verse. At the same time, she has never believed in conforming to norms. “I don’t believe that form should restrict a poem from being called a poem. Saranya counts Rabindranath Tagore and Subramania Bharthi among her inspirations.
She speaks, of another poet, Manmohan Ghose.
“He was the brother of Sri Aurobindo. He left India in a huff and went to England. He begun missing home and so wrote the poem, Myvanwy . Some lines from the poem are: ‘Lost is that country, and all-but forgotten amidst these chilled breezes, yet, still, oh, believe me all her meridian suns and ardent summers burn in my bosom.’ Unfortunately, no one knows much about his poetry. Ghose would always remind me unless you are visible, no one will hear your voice. The voices I have written in my poetry are those that have been forgotten or people have chosen to ignore. The world has not changed from Manmohan’s time. A poet still has to go door to door to get their poems published.”
Being Purple , priced at Rs. 170,is a Partridge publication and is available on Amazon, Flipkart, e-bay and at Blossom, Oxford book store and Goobes Book Republic.
