The Magic of Image and Muse of Words: My Experience

The Magic of Image and Muse of Words: My Experience

The poet while composing a poem he  tries to transform the image into the art of words. This is an intricate communication between the expressive art and the image as he visualizes. A new dimension of the fusion emanates  when the poet merges the image with poetic expression. The poignant subtle revelation explores something beyond the image or the piece of art. This is the essence of the art of haiga. Stephen Addiss puts haiga as “An artwork drawn by an artist’s imagination, collaborated with a Japanese poem (haiku, tanka or haibun) or contemporary forms either in calligraphy or computer typefaces”. Tanka with artwork is widely getting popularity and it is named as “Taiga” (Tanka-Photo). Etymologically, the term Haiga is composed of two terms, “Hai” means comic or humorous and “Ga” means traditional painting or drawing with a brush. A poem with painting tradition was existing long ago.

As early as in the 6th century, Chinese try to combine paintings, calligraphy with an expression of poetry. Later during the 7th century, during the Edo period, the style was adopted by the Japanese using the term nanga and bunjinga. Yosa Buson is amongst the pioneers for  developing  the literati art of writing haiga  using the Japanese  aesthetic values. Haiga developed as a combination of art, calligraphy and poetry together. The Chinese painters, Tsung Ping , Wang Wei and others emphasized the aesthetic visual magic of art of paintings.

In the 17th century, Nonoguchi Ryuho (1595-1669), a student of Kano Tanyu started the tradition of Haiga writing with painting and poem. Western poets started using photo with haiku (photo-haiga) which is identical to that of the Japanese sha-hai. Shahai  (photograph + haiku poem). It is synonymous of Haiga depicting an image ( sha) with haiku (hai) poem. Slowly the concept of incorporating digital photography, conventional photos , computerized images has been adopted for haiga incorporating contemporary themes.

Both image and haiku have got an independent entity expressed separately. Art painting  or photo-image  has its own manifestation of surrealistic meaning. The haijin tries to associate the image with the haiku to generate a higher level of literary recreation the product (here assimilation at thinking or preserving level). The combined psychoanalytical entity would genetically associate  with the image along with haiku and extends to a new expression for the reader’s imagination. There needs to be a symbiosis between the image and haiku. The associated haiku should explore the touch of emotion in different layers by embedding the art of sense like smell, touch or sound rather than by mere narration of the image. The fusoku – furi (not too far, not too close) is the art of haiku-photo genre.

Ray Rasmussen has written widely on haiga writing process and its ethical value. Steve Wilkinson coined a new genre “TanshiArt” to combine art with tanshi which represents haiku, senryu, tanka , gogyoshi, sedoka, lunes, lanterns and other short forms of poems.

Ekphrasis is the art of describing works of art with the poetry.  The word “ekphrasis” comes from the Greek “ek” and “phrasis”, ‘out’ and ‘speak’ respectively. This art of expression existed hundreds of years ago. One of the earliest known examples in the western literature is the description of Achilles’ shield in Homer’s Iliad. Poets like  Chaucer, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Keats, Auden, and others have beautifully created this art form. Presently the expression of Ekphrastic Tanka has been widely popular in literary circle.

Indeed, I like the modern art and when I glance, a ray of surrealistic interpretation comes to my mind of its own. I have had the pleasure of viewing various prestigious art galleries in Europe including some in India. I was greatly impressed by the essay, “Creating haiga images: Some considerations about text design” by Ray Rasmussen published in Haigaonline, Vol 13 Issue 1, June 2012 narrating the haiga image and text design. The article, “Perspective – The Image Space” by Beate Conrad in Chrysanthemum-12, October 2012 is a piece of brilliant interpretation of haiga.

“Looking and Seeing: How Haiga Works” by Jim Kacian (Simply Haiku 2:5, Autumn 2004) is widely referred as scholarly articles. The online journals such as Daily Haiga, Haigaonline, haiga section of The World Haiku Association, The Haiga Galleries of The Haiku Foundation and others are some of the excellent sources of  haiga literature.

Hidenori Hiruta, Editor, Akita International Haiku Network posted my last haiku, posted in the site, on 11.9.2010 and appreciated the following haiku with the comment:

“Last of all, I present a photo of a man flying a kite for the last haiku by Dr. P K Padhy”.

Probably this is my first Photo-Haiku. I reciprocate my deep appreciation to Hidenori.

Haiku by Pravat Kumar Padhy   Image: Selected by the Editor

Akita International Haiku Network, 11.9.2010

flying kites
marrying earth to sky
rainbow smiles

I was grieved by the effect of devastated sunami and composed some haiku to express the solidarity to the bereaved family. Hidenori Hiruta, Editor, Akita International Haiku Network posted my haiku on 22.10.2011 alongside the Buddha photo:

Haiku by Pravat Kumar Padhy  Image: Selected by the Editor

Akita International Haiku Network, 22.10.2011

tsunami--
the silent Buddha
in tears

I was much inspired by the photographs snapped by my daughter, Smita, during her stay in USA. The magnetic union of an image with poetry in the form of classical haiga inspires me a lot. I tried a few and my first haiga was published in the e-journal “ A Hundred Gourds”. The haiga speaks the brightness of creatures and their coexistence with the natural surrounding. The essence of bright colour and its coexistence regain importance for living beings. In the following haiga, the word ‘dark’ is used as a subtle metaphor.

    A Hundred Gourds 1:2 March 2012

Melinda Hipple, Haiga Editor of ‘A Hundred Gourds’  had a word of appreciation for the above haiga. He says,“It epitomizes the fabric of colour around  living organisms with dark sea”.

Linda Papanicolaou, the Editor of Haigaonline, encouraged me a lot and published some of my haiga in “The Haigaonline”.

   Haigaonline, Vol.13, Issue 3, 2012

joy of wedlock

the spark of diamond ring

pouring oceanic love

In the above haiga, the brightness of colour, metaphorically represents as the warmth of the sun, is symbolized  as the confluence of the sea with the sky. The serene spread of light epitomizes the canopy of unification of blissful love

Comments from Kuniharu Shimizuon, Editor of “The World Haiku Association” on my ‘bidding adieu’ haiga as surreal in expression thrilled me lot. I felt humbled for his appreciation. The poet wishes persistence of joy of life even in the longitude of dusk and enjoys the warmth of living for another new journey. It depicts a philosophical note with sunset used as the metaphor.

  World Haiku Association, 106, March 2013

Similarly in the following haiga, ‘Indian summer’, the fruit-bearing tree has been highlighted with a zen-feeling of tenderness. The mangoes symbolise as a reflection of kindness. Indian summer is used as the subtle metaphor of toughness and a sense of compassion is manifested by the ripening fruits.

World Haiku Association, 108, April 2013

Angela Leuck selected one of my tanka for the special Feature, “From Lime Trees to Eucalypts: Botanical Tanka” for Atlas Poetica. I happened to send her some of my haiku. She promptly wrote me back on the following haiku:

time and space
life - a season of its
own garden

“I would love to make a poster of it someday. I like to blend flower and garden photos together with poetry.  I'm working on a series of them, as well as a series of tea haiku and photos of teapots….”.
 

Cheers,
Angela

20.8.2011

I got a thrilling sensation about the beauty of haiga, The Haiku Art. My haiku for the selected painting by Mary E. Rodning has been published in “ Haigaonline”, Issue 15-1, 2014. The haiku reads as follows:

spring morning--

the butterflies paint

the gentle wind

http://www.haigaonline.com/issue15-1/traditional/02.html

I contributed some haiga and Taiga (Photo-Tanka)) to the special project, “Tanshiart” in  2015, edited by Steve Wilkinson who encouraged me a lot for writing haiku and other related genres. The Photo-Tanka, ‘spring melancholy’ synthesises the shades of colour and boundless beauty of nature. It is written in the 2/3 schemata form with L3 as pivot line. The musicality with rhythmic touch is aptly prevailed in the poem and it brings out the successful journey of the poet.

  TanshiArt Gallery, 2015

In the haiga, ‘calmness—‘ the inner serene feeling is manifested in the image of reflection. The visual art presents a sense of zen-feeling and is artfully depicted in the image of reflection.

TanshiArt Gallery, 2015

TanshiArt Gallery, 2015

The above haiga, ‘daybreak’, in a possible minimalistic way, exults the poignant beauty of flowers in the journey of life. The serene impact of fresh blooming flower unveils the journey of brightness at daybreak. Its symbolises  the aesthetic value of living.

A couple of haiga are also published on “The Urban Halcyon: A Contemporary Haiga / Shahi Journal” edited by Neelam. 

   Urban Halcyon: A Contemporary Haiga / Shahi Journal, Issue 2, 2015

The above haiga correlates the loneliness juxtaposing the barren tree. The loneliness is expressed through a lone cuckoo. The fragment of the haiku, ‘autumn solitude--’ deepens the darkness of loneliness

Urban Halcyon: A Contemporary Haiga/ Shahi Journal, Issue 2, 2015

a gift of freedom--

the sky unlocks its

boundary

The concept of freedom is analogue  in the form of boundless sky. This is the beauty of juxtaposition portrayed in the above haiga , ‘a gift of freedom’. A sense of openness is reflected in boundless sky. Here the bird symbolises as  an activity based entity. The blue background of the sky reflects the avenue of vastness for the reader to pace his journey of freedom.

Susan Constable has selected one of my tanka and Ron Moss portrayed it as a haiga in “A Hundred Gourds, 4:4 September 2015”. The last two lines (schimo no ku) of the tanka express emotional exuberance and pain of loneliness. The pleasure of happiness is correlated with the rainbow  which disappears  leaving her in solitude after separation. The tears metaphorically juxtapose the rains.

A Hundred Gourds, 4:4 September 2015

Art: Ron Moss

I composed a  couple of ekphrastic tanka and Editor Lorette C. Luzajic was kind enough to post them in her website. It has been an interesting experience. The tanka, “journey of life” revives the ancient paintings carved on a stone surface. The second one, “the brilliance” describes the most exciting CERN’s scientific experiment and the discovery of the elusive Higgs Boson particles, ‘God Particle’. The content of tanka portrays the contemporary scientific milieu in the form of poetry. The tanka art “a long journey” embraces the shades of twilight entwining with the optimism of thought process. It renders a chance to discover the light in the darkness, thus ruminating out a philosophical extension of human intelligence.

Cave Paintings at Bhimbetka, India, approx. 2000 B.C.,

photo by Raveesh Vyas.

journey of life 

lays as tiny footings

the imprints

remain as  the image of joy

on the silent   rock surface

Ekphrastic Tanka, November 2015

http://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/untitled-by-pravat-kumar-padhy

the brilliance

of cosmic dance

god particle

at the sparkled center 

radiates blissful rays

Ekphrastic Tanka, December 2015

http://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/untitled-by-pravat-kumar-padhy1

a long journey

through twilight shade

as a gift of nature

I embrace the darkness

the light of my inner thought

Ekphrastic Tanka, December 2015

http://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/untitled-by-pravat-kumar-padhy2

It enthused me a lot when the following haiga appeared in ‘Daily Haiga”, edited by Linda  Pilarski and Patrick Pilarski. In contrast to the earlier image in ‘Urban Halcyon’, here the barren tree is perched with birds and it demonstrates the sense of hopefulness in loneliness.

Daily Haiga, 2nd April 2016

I was highly inspired by Kuniharu Shimizuon, Linda Papanicolaou, Sandy Pray, Steve Wilkinson, Katha bela Wilson and others for their brilliant devotion to much acclaimed genre like Haiga, Photo-Haiku and Photo-Tanka.

Sandy Pray selected the following haiga for “A Hundred Gourds”. There has been an imagistic confluence of the of the sea and the sky. If one silently visualizes, ones thought goes beyond the boundary and is subtly crafted in the form of unification of the vastness of sea and  boundless of sky.

       A Hundred Gourds, 5:3, June 2016

gentle ripples--

my thoughts ferry

beyond horizon

One of my Photo-Tanka, based on an image snapped by my daughter, Smita, while she was in USA, is published in “The Colorado Boulevard” in May 2016. The Editor Kathabela Wilson writes:

“Poetry Corner” May 2016. She writes,” …..Pravat Kumar Padhy 's tanka impresses itself with grace, onto the page while his daughter opens the shell of mystery with poetic wings and wand. Pravat Kumar Padhy‘s tanka highlights the power of a poem to impress itself on our minds, the page and the world.”

“The poet brings light to darkness” created by Smita Padhy, Pravat’s daughter, on a visit to the USA.

Poetry Corner, Colorado Boulevard, 11th May 2016

I tried to symbolize the sense of liberation through  the Photo-Tanka. The colour interplay exhibits a landscape of sublime urge of liberation. The pearl of love continues to glitter in the darkness with its emblem of purity. It inspires us to voyage towards the summit of love and liberation.

The NHK Haiku Masters (the Japanese state-owned broadcaster NHK) in the following “Haiku this Photo” (Episode #4, July 2016), I submitted the following haiku:

step by step--

connecting home

with heaven

The haiku portrays the zen-feeling and connects the inner urge with the divinity with the passage of time.

Episode 4 ‘Matsuyama / Ehime’, NHK Haiku Masters, July 2016

The spread of colour rejuvenates the image of vivid communication between man and nature. The rhythm or vibration of word repetition extends the layers of imaginative sense and it has been reflected in the following Photo-Haiku which is prized at 7th  Setouchi Matsuyama International Photo Haiku Contest in Japan.

Michael Rehling, Editor of “Failed Haiku” selected one of the paintings of my daughter for publication in Vol.3, Issue 27, March 2018 issue. The haiga explores the zen-feeling of inner sense to the boundless space. It epitomizes the humbleness of living in this vast world.

Editors Lori and Chase were pleased to select the following haiga on the special haiga theme, “Macabre”. Through the touch of humorous, the universal yoga practices have been enumerated in the haiga. It encourages all to look deep within.

Scryptic, 2.1 June 2018

Cattails, October 2018

a new home

the mixed colours

of loneliness

In the above haiga, the moment of seclusion for the tender heron has been sketched.

Lavana Kray, the Haiga Editor comments:

Dear Pravat,

I wish to pick up your haiga "a new home" for the next issue…….. It is perfect and the best one I received till now.  I very much appreciate people who have emotional intelligence. I found it in your haiga.:)

friendly

lavana

Haiga Editor,Cattails

8.7.2018

Bonsai Journal, October 2018

The above haiga relates to the image exploring the imagination of human journey. The poetic exploration of journey has been assimilated with the unison of vastness of the sea and the sky.

Mamba, Issue 6, September 2018

The above haiga was composed when I visited Bali in 2017. I was amused by the picturesque beauty of this tiny land. Rice is cultivated in the form of steps like terrace on the slopes of the valleys. This is the centuries-old tradition of cultivation in Bali and is recognized as UNESCO World Heritage. The landscape charmed me to correlate the blooming of human relationship.

Under the Basho, 2019

Colin Stewart Jones appreciated the above haiga and published in the journal, Under the Basho, 2019. The haiga assimilates the scientific pursuits into the literature and the poet solemnly respects the iconic scientists and thinkers. The crescent moon and the symbolic expression of haiku enshrine the celestial aspects.

Featured in the ‘20th Anniversary Taiga Showcase’ of American Tanka Society

The above Taiga has been selected by Susan Burch, Editor, for publication in Tanka Society America blog as a mark of the celebration of 20th Anniversary of TSA and National Poetry Month. The tanka reveals the element of quietude of love sublime.

It has been a fascinating journey through the Japanese short form of poetry writing. Poetry creates a fabric of resonance to transmit the human essence into our surroundings and further into the greater space. The Japanese art of poetry writing spells the aesthetic values of the nature. The short form of Japanese poems portrays the touch of beauty through brevity and discovers the meaning of each entity. Writing haiku, tanka and haiga unveils the poetic essence and lively moments associated with all the entities within the fold of nature and human behaviour. It inspires me to unfold the spiritual wealth of even the dust particle as it embodies the basic building block of creation- living and  non-living. The poetry amalgamates the spiritual romanticism and intellectual cadence of human beings in the perennial journey along the corridor of nature’s panorama of blissful beauty.

Pravat Kumar Padhy, Scientist and Poet, hails from Odisha, India. He holds Masters in Science and Technology and a Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad. His literary work cited in Interviews with Indian Writing in English, Spectrum History of Indian Literature in English, Alienation in Contemporary Indian English Poetry, Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English etc. His Japanese short form of poetry appeared in various international journals including The World Haiku Review, Ambrosia, Lynx, The Notes from the Gean, Chrysanthemum, Atlas Poetica, Simply Haiku, Red lights, Ribbons, Lilliput Review, Under the Basho, Acorn, Modern Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, Shamrock, A Hundred Gourds, Magnapoets, Bottle Rockets, Asahi Haikuist Network, The Mainichi News, Skylark, Haigaonline, World Haiku Association: Haiga Contests, Daily Haiga, Tanshi Art, Mu International, Frogpond, Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival 2013, Presence, Otata, cattails,  Akitsu Quarterly, Autumn Moon Haiku, Wales Haiku Journal, HSA “Haiku Wall” in Bend, Oregon, USA etc.

His haiku won Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Honourable Mention Award, Canada, UNESCO International Year of Water Co-operation, The Kloštar Ivani International Haiku Contest, Creatrix Haiku Commendation Award, IAFOR Vladimir Devide Haiku Award, 7th Setouchi Matsuyama International Photo Haiku Award and others. His tanka, ‘I mingle’ is cited in the “Kudo Resource Guide”, Cal Performances, University of California, Berkeley, 2014/2015 Season.