Beautiful Thoughts to Mull Over

 Review by Ronica Wahi

Perfect Peace

By Dr. Debaruna Ghosh

First published: May 26, 2022, FanatiXx Publication.

Pages: 111.

ISBN: 978-9354527173

The creativity and the vitality of the orange; and the joy and the optimism of the yellow hues in a beautiful, serene setting that invites peaceful introspection and meditation over life form the first element that greets the reader as Dr. Debaruna Ghosh’s Perfect Peace is chosen for a read. This pretty cover designed by Abhijeet Ghosh is a perfect fit to the contents of the book.

A hundred pieces - presented a piece a page – varying in length but each encompassed within a few lines mull over distinct factors that can fetch sometimes fleeting and sometimes lasting peace and contentment, and - only if just momentary – happiness. For instance, the first piece talks of how life becomes dreary, with an individual just functioning and working mechanically, monotonously without chasing dreams, and sleep is what brings such individual some semblance of peace, though this peace is not lasting.

“…after the day has taken its toll

The night descends onto weary eyes,

Heavy with unfulfilled longing;

Dreams consigned to Oblivion…” (p.1)

Sleep, books, music, natural beauty, sounds of nature, hope, lessons, growth and strength gained through experiences, continuing one’s journey, a loved one’s hug, love, memories, longing, yearning, loss, staying away from painful realities, needing closeness to roots are among the various themes that Dr. Ghosh seeks to evaluate and comment upon. Many of the pieces are about the absence of a beloved, and the memories of and longing for this beloved; about moving on after loss; about pain. Yet, there are some positive aspects that exist alongside – sometimes, just the acknowledgement of the felt pain.

The peace in Perfect Peace is not necessarily an eternal state of bliss but peace of the kind one can feel in quiet meditations over and ruminations of life. The book offers many things to think about; some pieces would surely make the reader want to take a pause and contemplate over the lines read. This contemplation would give so much more joy and contentment when undertaken seated on a bench at a place like the one on the cover!

Certain pieces are quite poetic in the way they flow; and all are poetic in content for they are full of feeling, imagination, and beauty. The poetic touch is of the kind that is characteristic of ordinary life with its mix of beautiful and painful moments and recollections. The random, everyday thoughts have an everyday kind of simplicity and beauty about them. These lines, for instance, so prettily talk of a phase in one’s life that seems like another lifetime altogether:

“When I opened my bag,

I found someone’s diary in it.

I opened it.

The names, the occurrences,

Did ring a bell.

Familiar, yet strange.

True, they say, “when you walk out of a storm,

You are no longer the same.”” (p. 4)

The pieces appear in no seeming order – they are offered with randomness just as random thoughts on life strike one. In their seeming ordinariness are entwined beauty, interesting expressions, and well-chosen words. The literal as well as metaphorical use of “fog” in the following lines in an example of such good word choice:

“You were that beautiful road,

Which I would eagerly walk on.

But as we passed the fog,

I realized

Our destinations were different.” (p. 22)

Particularly in pieces that discuss longing for and missing the absent beloved, the writer of the lines appears as if in a trance, the way anyone who has loved intensely and recalls an absent beloved would tend to be in. Aptly, Dr. Ghosh writes in the last piece,

“When I revisit my poems,

They avidly show my broken heart!

Seems like a different person has written them…” (p.100)

Perfect Peace, as the review indicates, is a good read; of course – as with other stuff, but perhaps more so here – this might not suit everyone’s reading tastes.

 

If you do or can enjoy short, thoughtful pieces that discuss different dimensions of ordinary life and emotions, do grab a copy. Check out the book on Amazon India:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3otcvWu

Kindle: https://amzn.to/3zf36ae

 

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