A literary artist is the one who can reflect at the time, he/she is living in and show them as clearly as a mirror in front of the readers. Due to its richness, and the presence of gifted artists, Indian history finds a lot of expressions and reflection in the writings of not just renowned writers like indigenous Premchand or Mulk Raj Anand or Narayan or even Indian writers on foreign lands like Raja Rao but also political figures like Tagore, Gandhi or even Jawaharlal Nehru. Amit Tiwari in his path-breaking debut, “मेरे कितने चेहरे” also takes up the same task of representing his time at a subconscious level and presents his thoughts without tampering the facts.

The fact that Tiwari writes in Hindi which is the mother tongue of a lot of readers makes the poetry collection is easily relatable for the reader which at the same time results in the readers to get closer to both the poetry written and also the thoughts of the poet. As an artist, he writes on contemporary burning issues in poems like, “वायरस”, “देशप्रेम में मैं”, “देशभक्ति कटघरे में” and other poems like “जनसंख्या” and even “भीड़तंत्र का इंसाफ” and also, “चार रोटी”. “चार रोटी” comes as a hard-hitting reality which the present state of India faces, and the readers cannot help but agree with the thoughts of the poet. Likewise, is the poem, “आज़ादी क्या है?” where he raises the issue of the oppressed folks irrespective of caste or gender. He comes across not only as a reflector of the social scenario but also a thinker and commentator who shares his views without distorting the opinion of the readers or imposing his ideas on them.

He talks of the struggle of an ordinary Indian from middle class or lower-middle-class family who struggles to make ends meet in his poem, “स्कूल के दोस्त और दिल्ली, बम्बई”or in “रायसीना हिल्स” who talks of city glamour from the viewpoint of an outsider. Poems like these put Tiwari in the category of people’s poet where he does not talk about the comforts that life gives rather the hard realities, and the tough life people live and their everyday struggles which is perhaps the story of almost every second houshehold if one was to go beyond the metropolitan city life.

He also takes up the Wordsworthian theme of nature writing and talks about it in, “प्रकृति की गोद” but he differentiates himself from the fact that he is not lost in nature but addressing the reader and talking to him. Another interesting trait about his writing is that the poet does not have any limited or decided style that he follows. His style in the length of poems is as diverse as the themes he takes up. This diversity and variety of themes save his work from any sort of monotony and makes the reader want more of his writing.

Sometimes, Tiwari reminds the readers of Pablo Neruda due to the simplicity of the subjects he chooses which would otherwise be ignored from the observation of a person in poems like “कोठरी”, “शब्द”, “सत्ता”, “रात”, “मशाल”, “सड़क”, “रंगमंच” and many more. Even though the subjects of the poems are serious, and close to reality yet, the reader finds them is comfortable to be read without getting disturbed at any mental or emotional level. Still, the poet does achieve his purpose by making the reader think and this is merely an introduction to his artistic ability.

This combined impression of many writers on one mind clearly indicates how well-read the poet is and the kind of writing he chooses for himself. The nature of the content in the volume is more or less serious and close to reality that is why the readers with practical life experience will easily be able to connect and identify themselves with one poem or the other. Also, readers who want to understand the realities of life in a subtle yet clear manner can take up reading the collection of “मेरे कितने चेहरे” and explore life closely by being at the audience seat.

The readers who like poetry or are even having the slightest inclination towards reading Hindi writing are likely to get held by the book and get captivated by its powerful writing. In the volume of 89 poems, there is something or the other for every reader, and they are most likely to pick up favorite poems. The poet may have chosen to keep his style simple but as the title is “मेरे कितने चेहरे” is all about the different shades of the author as an artist and as a poet.

Title: Mere Kitne Chehre
Author: Amit Tiwari
Publisher: Evincepub Publishing
Reviewed By: Akhila Saroha at The Literature Today