NavinaMuthukrishnan, an 11 year old, grade 6 student living in Yarm (U.K.) has got a collection of her poems published under the title ‘The Book That Changed My World.’ She is undeniably a prodigy- too young for such an amazingly innovative work. The story that she has woven around the collection of her poems shows her transition from hatred toward poetry to her realisation that poetry is another wonder of literature. It is just great that she had eventually learnt to love poems. She says – “All those people who hate poetry, this book is dedicated to you”. Such people would become lovers of poetry after reading her book.
William Wordsworth said- “Poetry is emotion recollected in tranquility.” Navina’s poems depict emotions recollected amid different kinds of noise. She reminds us again of the memorable words of William Wordsworth- “Poetry is spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.”
Her non-rhyming poems are much more appealing than her rhyming poems. For instance- her poem ‘Like a Friend’. She provokes our thought by her lines-
“A book is like a friend
It can bring comfort in hard times…”
Another poem ‘World Toilet Day’ makes us smile when she says
“2.5 million people
Use no toilets as they grow”
‘Calling All Nature Savers’, ‘Journey’ and ‘The world I knew’ are really superb. Navina has got adapted to one line poems too successfully. Her one line poems- ‘November’s End’ and ‘New Year is dawning’ prove the truth that a poem could be written effectively even in one line; it is the underlying emotion that matters. She says- “the new year is dawning like a reluctant sunrise.” The strange imagery is certainly marvellous. Her style is lucid and clear. Her choice of words is splendid. Readers of all age would be captivated by her novel style.
Most of the poems of Navina depict her close observation of various aspects of Nature. For instance- “Wintry Winter”, “Stars pierce the Night Sky”, “Let it rain”“A morning out of my window” and “Raindrop”. Like John Keats, Navina has been admiring nature with a microscopic view. Some of the poems show her bondage with her family.
She began her book by saying “Poetry is not my forte” but ends it saying “poems have changed my perspective of the world and basically my whole life”. The transformation is astonishing. Navina says she has decided to write one poem everyday. “Nothing will stop me”, she says,“from attempting and, hopefully, succeeding.” It is said- “Poets are born- not made.”
In the case of Navina, it must be said that she is not a born poet. But she has made herself a poet. Once she said.“I hate poetry.” For Navina, poems seemed too complex and confusing but today she has resolved to write one poem everyday. What an amazing change! In the story woven, her teacher Liu (pronounced ‘Leo’) has rightly stated in her foreword that Navina must be able to infer the feelings of famous poets like William Wordsworth, with the passage of time. To sum up- one can confidently say that this budding young poet would shine as a bright star in the galaxy of literature. Her name ‘NAVINA’ itself means ‘NOVELTY’, that reflects in all her poems.
Review: Prof. M.R. Manohar
