Venting out negative emotions is one such therapy that can work wonders in one’s life. If a person resorts to writing them, it gives them a cathartic and an experience of both relief and also attaches a sense of freedom which only then pen can provide. At the same time, it also helps in cleansing the mind but the ones who read it find their eyes being opened to new dimensions which would have otherwise remained untouched for them. The book “Armories and Arsenals” written by Devarya Singhania is just an example of this.
The poetry collection, which features more than sixty-five write ups, reaches out to the readers because of its title initially. The later work is done by the subjects the author touches upon and the objectivity with which he writes about them. In “Armories and Arsenals,” the author has written about different emotions in a beautiful manner. Some write ups have been written with a wonderful poetic sense. This feature invokes multiple sense of the readers where they ponder over, imagine, comprehend, delve deep into the poetic words and at the same time, guess the depth of the thoughts of the poet.
As the language of the book is rich, the book is a good pick for someone whose comprehending skills are good. Poetry is known to be a form of literary writing where words are loaded with meaning and open to different interpretations at different points of time from different perspectives. The author has written intriguing and relatable emotions in few lines which makes it rich in terms of meaning and the hidden content it features. This aspect of the book makes “Armories and Arsenals” a bit more worthy to be read. The book is a
good pick for someone who likes to read about emotions, different phases of life, critiquing and analyzing all that goes around, and who would not refrain from speaking their minds without any fear. For those who have heard of “Where the Mind is Without Fear” by Rabindranath Tagore would find the ripple effects of Tagore’s poem in Singhania’s work.
In his “Armories and Arsenals,” the author has written about power, an apology, dominance, an unending agitation, hurled abuse, narrative sorrows, inevitable, arrogance, memories, confusion, unheard hopes, defending solo, temptations, the sequel, a torn note, communications, lost soul, curiosity, narration, crackers, a scarce rarity, reload and shoot and many such varied phases of life of an individual are expressed by the author beautifully in the book. These and along with many other themes find their place on Singhania’s canvas where he touches upon them with stark objectivity and a straight-forward, compact approach.
The poems feature swings of thought, emotions, and moods, which is quite close to showcasing the dynamism of the human mind. One needs to have an understanding, objectivity to examine self and maturity to get what the author has tried to express in the book. At the same time, the book is an emotionally overwhelming as the author has written about depth of emotions with such an honesty. The author has written everything in “Armories and Arsenals” in a blatant manner and still that feels good to be read. Today’s world believes in talking about reality on the face of it in an unabashed manner. Singhania’s work is a step in this direction. At times, he displays influences of post war poets where their works featured a stark objectivity too. Just like post-war writers, his work is likely to stand the test of time and would be continued to be read by the coming generations.
The author has invested patiently and genuinely in writing his thoughts and emotions in the book. His maturity in handling delicate subjects is visible and the readers are unable to overlook this fact. The mature readers would find an instant connect with the author’s words and would be able to relate with what he says in no time. Younger readers would take some time to connect with them but once the connection is established, there is no breaking it after that. In light of this, the book becomes important for reading but not just readers of all age-groups but also readers across generations.