Poetry is a romance with words
'Poetry is a romance with words', remarks Dr Jernail Singh Anand, top ranking philosopher and poet, who is in the news for his 9 epical works, particularly, The Mahakaal Trilogy, of which first two books have been published. Book-I 'Lustus: The Prince of Darkness' was published recently, and now, Dr Anand has come up with its sequel and Book-II of the 'Trilogy: Dominion of the Netherworld'.
In 'Lustus: The Prince of Darkness', Dr Anand shows the expanding regime of Lustus, the Corporate of Evil, who challenges the gods and in the hi-tech war that ensues, nearly defeats the angels. Ma Durga, the goddess of Power, slays many of the monsters, forcing Lustus to seek a truce. In 'Dominion of Netherworld' gods find themselves gravely challenged by Lustus again, and in the fiercely fought battle of ballots, the angels lose their security deposits. Avi [the Lord of Destruction] comes into a great rage, and sets out in search of Lustus, who, he finds seated in the hearts of the people. So, he massacres a huge part of the population. After which, Lustus is sent on a million years exile. The epic ends with a new world coming up after this Kaliyuga is over, giving indications of the Book III 'The Ultronic Age: The Celestial Reign' in which Queen Ultronia rules over Ultronia in the new Satyuga with the blessings of Ma Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge.
In Anand's 'Dominion of the Netherworld', the angels represent the noble class while the demons represent the treacherous politicians. This epic is a literary masterpiece and an embodiment of a universal political philosophy. It possesses all the qualities of an Epic: the structural engineering is grandiose, presentation of Scenes, Dialogues, embellished with Astral Interventions, with God Himself making an appearance, surpasses even Milton's Paradise Lost. What makes "The Dominion Of Netherworld" a work of Demonic Apocalypse is the profane sovereignty of Lustus over humans, as this young energetic deputy of Satan, makes even God anxious about the domination of Evil over the hearts and minds of stupid humans, with the Apocalypse of Despair, becoming the soul-stirring Ultimate Truth !
"The Dominion Of Netherworld", becomes a wake-up call for the contemporary human world to wriggle out of the Supremacy of Lustus / Evil , before it is too late. The narratives remind one of William Faulkner's Cut-up-and-fold- in technique in his Yoknapatawha County Fiction of the American South, as witnessed in "The Sound And The Fury". The Narrative in "Dominion of The Netherworld" is Cinematic, similar to Faulkner's Masterpiece work. The Kaleideoscopic change of Scenes in "Netherworld", reflects the Imagination of the author as a Syntagm of Imagination and the Power to Vibrate it in words! Marriage is a Tribulation forced upon hapless men and women by an Apostatic Conformist Society, only to Imprison and Cocoon two helpless Souls, in a Kafkaesque Metamorphosis.
According to Dr Basudeb Chakraborti, Anand's cosmic narrative is an insight into Anand's vision of the distant Past, the Present and the Future. Here the poet is like the modern Tiresias of T.S Eliot's The Waste Land.
Described by his contemporaries as the greatest satirist [like Daniel Defoe], greatest moralist, and greatest idealist and greatest philosopher poet of 21st century, Dr Anand stands tall like a literary colossus of modern times, well acknowledged by Franz Kafka Literary & Artistic Prize 2022 [Germany, Austria, Czech Republic]. Just to have such a grand vision and vigour to undertake a poem of such epic proportions is a unique accomplishment in the 21st century with no match today. We have to look for comparisons in classical epic literature or to turn to today's cinematic epics such as 'Star Wars', remarks Dr Maja Herman Sekulic. I have reviewed several of his works, and I feel they should be introduced in Univ. curriculum and research be carried out on his work, and this stalwart of Poetry is recognized by the Sahitya Akademi and the Nobel Foundation.