Rochelle Potkar’s latest mesmeric collection of verses, “Coins in Rivers,” exquisitely crafted and recently published by the esteemed Hachette India, proves to be a consummate choice for any discerning connoisseur of literary masterpieces. Rochelle Potkar, a distinguished alumna of Iowa’s esteemed International Writing Program and a fellow of the Charles Wallace Writer’s program at the University of Sterling has earlier seized hearts with her poetic works, including “Four Degrees of Separation,” and “Paper Asylum”. Unveiling itself boldly and resolutely, Rochelle Potkar’s poetic musings stem from the intimate recesses of her being, effortlessly resonating with the collective consciousness of humanity. Like a maestro conductor orchestrating a symphony, she deftly encapsulates the tender whispers from within, and the menacing echoes of detonations, with equal command and finesse.
After leaving ineradicable impressions on hearts and minds through her fictional works ‘The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories’ and ‘Bombay Hangover’, Potkar brings for literati this new collection of verses. She writes in the preface of ‘Coins in Rivers’- “Poetry itself was in a slippery relationship with me not so long ago, standing adamant at my intimate temple door like a dutiful daughter as I tended to patriarchal son of fiction. Even if I might have wanted to leave her, she never left me. Like a river, like rain – I have now given in to the transience of existence through poetry – submerging sometimes, emerging sometimes.”
Divided into appealing sections, every section of “Coins in Rivers” has first-rate verses with in it to magnetize a reader’s soul. These verses effortlessly breathe life into the essence of love, anguish, ire, and resistance, their radiance shimmering akin to coveted coins nestled beneath the tranquil surface of aqueous bodies. Laden with the hopes and aspirations that ardently adhere to them, these poetic snippets serve as an exquisite manifestation of the senses, while simultaneously presenting an astute contemplation on femininity, maternity, patriarchy, politics, corruption, inequality and the very essence of belonging to a society and life.
To illustrate, Rochelle Potkar’s poem “Bread” takes us on a journey through the enchanting world of bread-making, telling the significance of bread in our lives, steeped in artistic language and imagery. The poem begins with a vivid depiction of the earth-diver plunging into a seabed of dough, setting the stage for the magic that is about to unfold. The bread, described as a “life-sustainer with sugar, starch, gluten,” is imbued with a sense of reverence and importance. It becomes more than just food; it becomes a sacred entity, a deity of sorts with its “crunchy outsides, moist insides” and the “lactobacilli” that ferment it.
Potkar beautifully explores the themes of creation and transformation through the process of bread-making. She employs artistic language to depict how bread is drawn “from ex nihilo,” from nothingness, in open-air bakeries using natural additives. The loaf becomes a symbol of unity, duality, and even trinity, as various types of bread like baguette, challah, and brioche take on different forms and purposes. It also hints at the idea that bread has been present in our oral traditions and ceremonies, acting as a bridge between the physical and psychic worlds and alludes to the concept of divinity.
Delving into the labor and craftsmanship, Potkar imagines old soldiers, bankers, and tailors now grinding grain, transforming it into “salt-rising, bacterial, cheese-flavoured foam.” This depiction elevates bread-making to an art form, with each loaf representing hope and textured sweetness in the face of the daily grind of life. The poem concludes with a beautiful yet humble image of bread as sustenance for all creatures, from worms and fish to rabbits and civets. Bread becomes a unifying force, a nourishing presence that transcends species boundaries.
“Bread for the worm, bread for the fish
Bread for the rabbit, bread for the civet.”
The poem reflects on the profound significance of something as humble as bread in our lives. Luisa A. Igloria, author of “What is Left of Wings” praises saying this- “Like a restorer who undertakes many hours of intensive labor bent over surfaces ravaged by time and circumstance, Rochelle Potkar attends to uncovering layers to bring the small but important details of what was submerged to the foreground again.”
Another poem ‘Partisan’s Village’ critiques religious conflicts, political ideologies, power struggles, and the destruction of nature in the name of progress. The poet questions the existence of God, suggesting that true spirituality and connection with the divine cannot be found in religious buildings alone. The repetition of the lines here emphasizes the cyclical nature of these conflicts and the lack of true resolution:
“Break down a temple, church. Build a mosque.
Break down a mosque, temple. Build a church.
Break down a church, mosque. Build a temple.
But where’s god in these building blocks of civilizations?”
The reference to various isms in the poem such as leninism, marxism, communism, capitalism, socialism, dictatorship, and democracy highlights the influence of these ideologies on feminist movements and political developments. The line “if we thought feminism battled through new skins” suggests that ideologies have shaped and influenced feminist movements at different points in time.
Potkar uses powerful metaphors and symbols to convey her message. The phrases “splendid dog fights of the bigots” and “reinterpretations of religion… or history” create vivid imagery of religious conflicts and the manipulation of beliefs to suit political agendas. The phrases “heart versus mind versus hands versus feet” and “tongue versus tongue versus tongue” in ‘Partisan’s Village’ demonstrate the division and conflict within society creating a sense of opposition and conflict. Throughout the book, such usage can be perceived instilling senses in nerves and to express her point of view as a poet for a social change.
In her chef-d’oeuvre, “Coins in Rivers,” Rochelle Potkar displays an awe-inspiring authority of language, captivating the minds of urban dwellers and intellectuals alike with her artistry in the realm of thought-provoking poetry. Jayanta Mahapatra, awarded the Sahitya Akedemi award and the Padma Shri believed about the collection- “A haunting inventiveness runs through these poems. Rochelle Potkar’s imagination is rich and carefully employed to her poetic purposes, sensitively met with through her concrete imagery and cosmopolitan vocabulary.”
Philip Schultz, Pultizer Prize Winner and Founder and Director of The Writers Studio, New York appreciates her poems in these words- “these fierce, fearless new poems of Rochelle Potkar seem nothing less than a continent adrift, forging not only a new language, but a refuge from our present aesthetic dystopia.”
Rochelle Potkar effortlessly reigns over the vast spectrum of Philosophy to Psychology, Mythology to Technology, Marine Biology to Astronomy, and all Sciences to Arts and Humanities as an ace of intellectual domains. Within the pages of ‘Coins in Rivers’, her poetic prowess resonates this profound erudition, infusing each line with an undeniable sense of wisdom.
Dr. Shalini Yadav is a Professor and Columnist from Jaipur, Rajasthan.