“Brevity is the soul of wit.” What The Bard of Avon William Shakespeare uttered some 400 years ago still is an axiomatic truth. And that is why the legend of imagination Vihang A. Naik today holds the highest pedestal as a poet.

You want a litmus test of Vihang’s “brevity”? Well! Here is an example: Little light. A poem is made. These words flowing from the pen of Vihang is poised to become one of the best quotable quotes as far as definition of a poem is concerned.

A Limca Book of Records holder, this minimalist poet’s wizardry of words can best be understood on turning over the pages of Making A Poem, a collection of soft poetry that should better be termed as his personal aesthetics in its finest form.

Vihang’s City Times and Other Poems and Making A Poem was born to enchant the readers globally. This wizard of words wove magical webs that sounded more like songs than poems and won hearts. Really, what is a poem if it cannot move the hearts of its readers?

On making a critical assessment of Making A Poem, what attracts us the most is the unique style, a style that has novelty, simplicity and also far from use of verbiages. Readers really recite rather than read those poems. It appears words are automatically pouring from a magic pot just like water from a natural spring.

Making A Poem: Emotion Unchained, Imagination Added Wings

Every poet has his or her own dictions, stylistic approach be it Rabindranath Tagore, Robert Front or Sarojini Naidu. You glide through their sentences rather than read it.

On reciting our very own Indian Bard Vihang’s very simple words that gets embossed in your brain at the same time moving your heart, you find this particular trait. May be, all poetic gods of human imaginations think alive.

That is why we find we have entered into a world of un-nuanced imagination on reading Making A Poem: an anthology that reflects positivity of human life with outbursts of emotions. Our poet laureate Vihang played supremely well with profound thought with minimum words.

Vihang’s keen observation, thorough understanding of sentiments that follow its own course, reflected in such a crystal clear manner that the lovers of poetry are bound their spells to the pages of Making A Poem.

The diction of Vihang as reflected in the five different sections of this poetry book are unique in a sense each one of them convey meaning of human life is the most simplistic yet realistic manner be it Are you looking for that poet? (sketching struggle of a poet) or A Poet as a Young Man (fight to write without verbiages).

Vihang: A Bard Who Chirped

Lyrical scheme of Vihang, as woven in his creations, marked a new beginning of poetry, at least in India. They will find further new avenues in the maze of creativity if included in the curricula of English literature taught in the colleges and universities.

Making A Poem is perhaps one of the best examples of expression of ecstasy every penned by a poet. A Poem Comes Alive, similarly is heart touching as it takes you to the world of fantasy yet without fantasizing the words. A Poet in the poem titled Wanted too talks about a poet’s dedication.

This Surat (Gujarat)-born poet who taught English literature travelled extensively and that gave him the scopes to watch different aspects of Indian life in their manifold colours. Some of them reflected in his poetry too making them appear like a rainbow, at times. He retired from teaching as Associate Professor in English from Colleges in North Gujarat in March, 2019 and now writes from Baroda where he lives .

He is a bilingual writer who also pens poems in Gujarati. His extraordinary humanitarianism found its supreme expression in the form of Jeevangeet, a collected of poems in Gujarati, in 2001 when trauma of earthquake hit the Gujaratis in particular and Indians as a whole.