The titular poem in Amlanyjoti Goswami’s River Weddingprepares us right away for the unexpected. The ‘wedding’ in question is not of a couple getting married outdoors, but of rivers themselves gathering in a great celebratory storm, at once spectacular and threatening.
Movement, whether of rivers or human beings, propels the collection forward. Journeys and travels, arrivals and departures, frequently serve as motifs. Images of airplanes, trains and terminals intersperse the pages of River Wedding, from the concrete aesthetic pieces such as ‘Terminal 3’ to intriguing juxtapositions in free verse, including ‘Reading Tibetan on the London Tube.’ Several affectionate pieces illustrate intergenerational family love, where elders share their caring wishes for younger family members, and, through them, journey through time as well as space.
Goswami’s work reflects a cosmopolitan awareness of a large world. Pieces take place in Indian cities and towns, a Caribbean beach, the London subway, and Washington, D.C. at night, where teens shoot hoops and those of all ages and backgrounds ride the bus home. In one piece, he highlights and laments the fear created internationally by racist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, through a speaker who feels hunted even from miles away.
Yet he can write as evocatively about domestic scenes, as he does in ‘Two Sisters’ and ‘Lunch,’ as sensitively and directly as about his speakers’ meanderings or pensive abstract musings.
His language is conversational but never rambling or confessional, with a reserve that comes from intentionally chosen words. He brings in academic language when it adds to the subject and the flavor of a piece, when he talks of Matthew Arnold, ancient Tibetan books, or philosophy, yet never becomes abstruse for the sake of it.
He splashes in a dose of humor, in pieces such as ‘The Philosopher Meets his Match’ and plays with language and the arrangement of words on the page, as in ‘Leaving the Building’ and ‘Terminal 3.’
Yet, his greatest strength comes from the personal, affectionate poems, such as the tribute to the grandmother, ‘Aabu,’ written in her voice, which he can carry off with a gentle reserve that suggests deep feeling.
When there is money, it will be safe to get married
In other words, when money is absent, there is no marital safety. Is it? If money is a criterion for marriage, how long do you think you can make it to make possible marriage? Do you want to be the oldest man in the whole world before you get married just because of the need to make available money?
The answers to these questions have unequivocally prompted young men and women into realizing ‘fast money’ using cut corner and illegitimate means. The results are obviously very obnoxious, most of all, a resulting sudden death.
In most cases, this issue is rampant amongst young men who will go at length to see that the much-needed money is made in order to ensure marital safety. Unfortunately, it is just the mirage expression of what it really means.
Imagine a situation where a man lays the foundation of his building on a sandy platform, anticipating it to lift the building’s load equivalent to that of a skyscraper. The building will in no time be in shambles! The analogy is akin to individuals who lay the foundation of their marriage on primarily money in anticipation that it would withstand the ‘loads’ of sexual gratification, effective communication, physical, mental and material satisfaction. As a matter fact, assertions such as” we need money to fulfill our marital desire,” “money is the most important thing in marriage” and so on are used philosophically by men who monetize their marital foundation. By extensive inference, the issue of money has undoubtedly ‘forced’ responsible and prospect-driven women into marrying men who are of a perfectly incompatible character, no thanks to the parochial thoughts and intents of money dynamics. Consider this true life story;
Lizzy, a close-door neighbor of mine, has been married to Andrew for close to a decade. Situations made her confide in me her topmost “top secrets”. One of the secret would have to be unearthed for the world to see. After all, there is nothing hidden under the sun. However, I cease this platform to apologize to you, Lizzy. Please forgive me! In her words, she said: “I got entangled in this inescapable dungeon, marriage because I was pushed into marrying this rich infidel. Granted, he helped finance most of my pursuits in life (academics inclusive), he didn’t have what it takes to be a good husband
Before I met my present husband, I had been in a relationship with my childhood friend, John. Though John wasn’t financially capable to carter for me, he had a good prospect and was sound in all areas of like I could (at the time) recognize. Peers family pressure and impatience on my part made me to settle down with Andrew who was financially more stable. Now, as I speak to you, I’m in the abyss of marital misfortune as he is self-centered, uncaring, and unfaithful and displays a non-chalant altitude towards me. Without any skepticism, I utterly regret why I made this decision” “what a pity” I must say.
At this point, a clarion call has to be made: the earlier we recognize and believe look, me and sinker the fact that money is a used tool for communication instead of the generally constructed implicit communication master, the better our relationships would be. Tell me, how can someone who has nurtured to be a servant all his life suddenly become a master? This was the intended functions money; a good servant or communication tool. Else, it would be an ugly master, if given topmost priority.
Paper money was introduced to the world in 1919. Economists have asserted that the most outstanding quality of money is that it is a means, the term MONEY simply Means (or Medium) Of (inter) National Exchange (for) yields simply, money is a medium of local international exchange for other goods and services, gains. You can see the reason money was primary designed.
“What should be the correction of this deception “? A clever question! It would be an answered by you through the clue-like questions. “What would make you sell your most prized possessions to raise funds to resuscitate your dying mother at the hospital? What would make an individual take the place of his friend at the time of death? What would make a woman abandon her family of a well-to-do background and settle for a man who can barely eke a living?” The answers are just one …
It is a virtue which must be bedrock for any successful marriage. Precisely, it is the foundation which can withstand the ‘forceful burdens’ of marital setbacks and make concrete the convenience of marriage. Similar to a man who laid his foundation on a rocky platform; it is the worth that would ensure an Enduring blissful and beneficial marriage, if embraced. Can a man-made creation such as money be the bedrock of an eternity-in-life marriage? If yes, what happens if a setback such as financial downturn emerges? Obviously, the ‘virtue’, a God-defined name, is an eternity-based recognition, serving as bedrock to a life-long marriage. After all, you cannot lay the foundation of a bungalow building anticipating it to withstand a load tantamount to a skyscraper.
Money can run errands but lacks the verity to send errand .this should be the simple view point of people. In a marriage, the transient nature of money makes it a flop-noticed master when prioritized. Put simply, it can never be a good foundation. However, it should be seen as the communicative tool or arguably a faithful servant that (with proper instruction) will run the errands and successful marriage. On the other hand, the virtue should be viewed as on the concrete foundation which is a commensurate to eternity-on-earth marriage. It is to be reckon with in terms of its ability to withstand marital challenges through painstaking sacrifices. What is that ‘virtue’? A question you may want to ask. The very answer is true love;
It does not mean that money is not essential for marriage rather, it is a communicative tool or with proper sagacity, a faithful servant of True love. Realistically, it is the foundation of all long lasting marriage that have ever existed in the world from the medieval to our contemporary era.
Therefore, true love should precede money. After all, who is the servant without his master and how can a master not need the service of his servant for errands to be sent, carrying out instructions and so on? With true love on your side, the mutual co-operation between you and your spouse will birth an idea that will produce immense wealth and make the marriage interesting. Hence, it is right saying: “with true love it will save to get married”
About Chimezie Ihekuna:
Following the words of the great Greek philosopher, Socrates, ‘Employ your time by improving with other men’s writings so that you can gain easily what others labored hard for’, Mr. Ben, as he is fondly called, published author, essayist, poet, speaker and voice-over artiste is poised to impact humanity in all spheres of life and human recognition. With his knowledge zenith, he is willing to disseminate valued and ageless information to all interested persons, groups and organizations-what he toiled to gain over the years.
To depict this feat, he has written over twenty breath-taking masterpieces that cut across almost very literary category to help improve the cause, shape and existence of humanity; sexuality, business anecdotes, science, home affairs, marriage, relationships, friendship, self-help, gender issues, life matters, motivational and inspirational interests, educational/academic matters and many more…He is still counting! To his credit, he has written over forty timeless articles on the various literary categories; showcased on www.ezinearticles.com, www.articlebase.com, www.searchwarp.com, www.triond.com and other affiliate sites.
His amazing writing skills, novel concepts, creative works and avid reading and communication skills have earned him a recognized membership with the following international affiliations; www.christianwriters.com, www.associationofaspiringauthors.com, www.writerface.com and other known writers’ organizations. No doubt, he is not only a writer with a difference but also an entrepreneur, investor and a philanthropist whose slogan reads ‘service to God and humanity are paramount’.
Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Ben currently runs an E-retail outfit known as Hub Of All Enterprises (www.mybookpublications.wordpress.com). He loves reading, communicating, meeting people, writing, listening to music and singing, watching classic movies and playing football.
Dominique Valarcher teeters between extremes, always somewhere in the middle. The professor protagonist of Denis Emorine’s literary novella Death at Half-Mast, hecarries a name that in his native France is gender-ambiguous. His mother’s first husband had hoped to have a daughter with her before dying in a concentration camp, and would have given her that name. This leaves Dominique with the idea that he has two ‘fathers’, his actual father and the man who gave him his name.
Hence, he exists simultaneously in two realities, a theme that organizes and propels the novel. At the beginning, Valarcher reflects that his children are the same age that he and his wife Laetitia were when they met. He positions Nora, the young student who admires him and writes a thesis concerning his work, into a duality as well. She reminds him of the deceased Russian actress Tatiana Samoilova, persecuted and driven to despair by the Stalinist regime. This resemblance repeats and reinforces the motif of tragedy, oppression, and the loss of what might have been, in a somewhat mythical past that enters Valarcher’s life when he discovers his name’s origin. Even when love, study or attraction keeps it at half-mast, death is still present.
Much of the story revolves around Dominique’s internal life. He thinks of and relates to others in ways that stem from the role they play in the mental narrative he constructs for and about himself, rather than observing them as distinct people in their own right. He laments his daughters’ lack of interest in his literary writing. He thinks of his blood father, who raised him, as an interloper. He remembers a passionate night with his wife after she returned from being away somewhere with great nostalgia – along with the fact that he never asked where she’d gone.
Most notably, he agonizes over whether to leave Laetitia for Nora, which he sees as a traumatic moral decision he must make, before he receives any clear indication from Nora that she cares for him beyond friendship. He shows some self-awareness when he observes a male student looking displeased at his interactions with the young student. When it occurs to Valarcher that the young man might be Nora’s boyfriend, it occurs to him that he knows almost nothing about her.
Death at Half-Mast ends before Valarcher makes any sort of decision, leaving him face-down on the couch at his friend’s country retreat. This ending shows that the story isn’t so much about what he decides but about who he is.
Firmly ensconced within French and Hungarian universities, all the novel’s characters meet each other and continue to interact within the academic environment. The book’s language, however, is readable and the plot relatively straightforward, accessible to all those who wish to probe the travails of a man caught between shifting realities.
