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Night Jasmine by Goran Gatalica, 2022, Stajer Graf Publishers. Price : 18 euros
Review by Vidya Venkatramani
“Night Jasmine” is a haiku collection by a Croatian poet – Goran Gatalica. It was surprising to discover that it was a multi-lingual book. Each haiku in Croatian was translated into English, French, Czech, Japanese, Italian and even Hindi. I liked the vision that the haijin had in presenting a multi-lingual book.
The effort put into the book is visible. There are editors for each language and they are well known linguists and poets. Jim Kacian has written the foreword wherein he talks about the growing distance with nature due to urbanization.
The title of the book Night Jasmine washed me with a sweet scent but I was in for a surprise when I read the haiku from which it has been taken.
night jasmine-
her bloomed soul brings water
to a refugee
Indeed, Gatalica has written many haiku on similar themes.
approaching war-
wild thorns covered up
with twilight
In the opening word, the poet has strongly condemning war and the miseries that follow. He has made a strong appeal for peace both in the opening word and his haiku.
Besides war and it many facets, Gatalica has also written haiku which reflect his keen observation of nature. The book is divided into four sections – Passing Cloud, Searing Heat, Wind Chimes and Scent of Snow. He engages all of his senses in taking in his observations and the reader is engaged in a sensory experience of his haiku.
empty commuter train –
listening to spring drizzle
through an open window
full bloom…
a boatman inhales
his lost childhood
lazy afternoon…
a monarch butterfly touches
my daughter’s palm
The book has many more such beautiful gems. The poet has also made observations on his family members. Gatalica’s haiku about domestic scenes and family are outstanding.
pilgrimage-
cherry petals fall
on my mother’s sandals
end of spring-
father carves a tiny line
into the wood
Father combing his hair, grandpa smoking his pipe, plum stains on mother’s apron- these are some beautiful pictures that Gatalica has captured in his haiku.
Overall, this book is an enlightening read which readers all over the world will be able to connect. It is a subtle reminder of our humanity in the face of dehumanizing conditions of war and strife. The haiku, gentle in composition, leave an everlasting impression in one’s mind. This is the appeal of Goran Gatalica’s haiku. The Hindi translation by Aparna Pathak is very well done keeping in mind the economy of words in haiku.
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