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Stephan Gill : A
Poet of Peace and Harmony
Antaryami Sahu
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*Online Pakistan Christian Post, March 1, 2004;
also Bharat Times (Montreal,
Canada)Mar. 2004, p.17
Stephan Gill, a poet of international repute, has many collections of poems to his credit. The
Dove of Peace, Shrine, and
Songs of Harmony are notable collections. The titles and the dedications in these collections signify that the poet's main concern is
peace and harmony. When we delve into the poems of these collections, we
are made sure that the poet is a staunch pacifist, whose hopes and aspirations
are for a better world of
peace and harmony. Also, for this reason these
poems have gained appreciation of
the readers from all over the world.
In many of these poems, the poet
warns us about
the horrors of war. War is destructive by nature. Moreover, it cannot solve human problems. War will
not be able to solve human problems in the days to come. War can do harm
but no good. Those people who believe war is for "winning glory" . .
. "boosting Pride" . . .
"settling disputes"
are really wrong. War is only a fraud and senseless killing. It
makes women widows and children orphan. It makes many people maimed and
handsome persons
handless. It pollutes air and water. The innocents suffer most
during and after war. They are deprived of their basic needs, including food, shelter, sanitation and medicine.
The places of worship are endangered. The poet says
that the whole
world will be destroyed
completely, if a third world war breaks out. The world is in the teeth
of destruction because of the nuclear weapons. In the words of the poet the
people who fought in the war condemn it. The poet echoes
the words of those people when he says: "war chokes the joy of
life/ victor and loser suffer/ it kills man's hope/ bringing destruction to
all.@ Thus the poet hates and
condemns war. By this condemnation he suggests that he hopes and aspires for a war‑free world where peace and harmony reside hand in
hand.
Some of the poems in these collections reveal that politicians, leaders and
rulers are damaging world peace and social harmony. They talk of peace but
possess nuclear-powered marines,
missiles and other lethal weapons. They also make a lot of promises which they
don't keep. These
rulers, leaders and politicians
give statements against drugs but
they don't do anything for banning the use of drugs. They also can't
see the danger ahead and can't
hear the distressing cries
of the innocent
though they have good eyes and ears.
In addition to
these rulers, leaders, politicians, police are also responsible for damaging
peace and harmony. Often
police fail to identify
criminals, and sometimes they help
criminals escape. Sometimes they let the innocent suffer for the crimes
committed by others. The drug lords are also responsible for damaging peace and
harmony. The poet also says that
terrorism which the present day world is facing is a major factor which
endangers world peace and social harmony.
In the words
of the poet, "terrorists
profess / their targets are not innocents / yet they engineer sneaky devices/
to awaken the dogs of gloom.@ They talk of harmony /but plan genocide. According to the
poet, we must find out the root causes for which darkness is prevailing in the world and eliminate them. The poet also
says that we should subdue the progenitors of darkness for the betterment of
mankind.
One of the major causes for the
disturbance of world peace and social harmony at present is religious
fanaticism. According to the poet "It breeds / the daughters of fire /
storm / sword and wound" and "It leads / the adders of dread /
destruction/ disdain and distaste.@ Again in the words of the
poet "the night of racial
prejudice / chews peace" and "In the sea of politics/ harmony tosses on the wild
waves / trapped in rays of
racism." We must
fight against racism and bigotry for
peace and harmony in the world. The obvious message
is that
people of different
religions or cultures are one-- they are all humans. The poet says
"every branch of humankind / stems from the same tree.@ By this
he means that the people
of different cultures or religions are the branches of the same tree, thus
their origin is the same. The poet says that his poetry "wants to assemble
flowers of all hues / into a single bouquet.@ Here he means that people of
different religions or cultures are the flowers of different colours. The
bouquet here refers to the world. Here the poet's desire is clear. He
wants people of
different religions and cultures
to live
in harmony to preserve
the beauty of the world.
Patriotism and nationalism are two good
qualities. They are essential for the development of all
nations. They are also not out side humanism. But sometimes in the name of patriotism
and nationalism the
peace of the world is hampered. The poet is against these
sorts of patriotism and nationalism.
In several poems, the poet prays God for
the betterment of mankind. He prays God to give wisdom to humans so that
they are able to save the world from destruction. He also prays Him to bless
children, the future of mankind.
He says, "Far from evil and greed/ let them grow/ as soldiers of
peace.@ The poet also prays Him to
provide him the divine light so that he will be able to write
better poems through which he can guide mankind for a better future. In
some of the poems the poet expresses his desire
for a war‑free world
directly and forcefully. The poet says, "I despise evil/ war greed/
social commands/ and the relief of a home." He also says "I aim to
lead/ an epoch
of peace." Modern men are
deprived of peace and harmony because of war, hatred, illusions, ignorance, injustice, bigotry, lust, despair,
pollution, and starvation. The poet
suggests his readers
to lead a life of
friendship, corporation, help,
mercy and hope, so that there is
peace in the world. The poet also says
that all the problems such as
pollution, ecology, diseases, war, and bigotry which humanity is
facing cannot be solved by one nation.
All the nations of the world should fight together against these
problems. According to
the poet the United Nations is
one of the major forces which can fight against these problems
and will be able to eliminate these scars from the world and be able to
establish peace and harmony.
The poet is full of love and praise for
Canada, the country where he is living.
According to him "Canada is
a United Nations in
microcosm." This is a united country with diversity. People of different cultures and religions
live with peace and harmony in this country.
There are
corporation and coexistence between the minorities and the majority in this
country. The poet wants that the people of other countries of the world to follow Canada.
This can help those
countries to achieve peace. The poet
has also complete faith in democracy as a form of government. It teaches
us the quality of tolerance. With this form of government in all countries, the world would become a better place with
abundant peace and harmony.
The poet is full of love and admiration
for Martin Luther King. According to the poet, King was really a great man. He worked hard for the betterment of mankind.
The poet says King "was among those/ who are born once in decades"
and "He laboured in the narrow alleys/ of the bumpy orbits of bigotries/
to raise a stage/ for the goddess of peace/ to dance." The poet's desire is that there should be
more Kings in the world and those Kings can work for peace and prosperity of
mankind.
In these
collections, there are poems on
a heroine addict, abandoned child, an amputee and so on. The poet
identifies himself with them and
feel their pain. He also wants us to
feel and understand their pain and treat them with sympathy to console their
hearts. This will also lead mankind towards peace and harmony. The poet says
"I consider myself a
citizen of the world, a trait
that is obvious
from my poems." The poet
wants us to feel like him. If we feel like the poet, we will be free from all
sorts of narrow‑mindedness and can contribute towards peace and harmony
of the world.
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A lecturer for English
Literature at Mahatma Gandhi Degree College in Orissa,
India, Antaryami Sahu writes also
poetry and critical articles.