Name of the book: Vodka by the Volga – A duo of dueling dulcimers & daggers
Authors: Dr. Santosh Bakaya & Dr. Koshy AV
Price: Rs.49, Available on Amazon
Publisher: Blue pencil, 2020
The two writers have written many books, but this time the two prolific and inspiring authors,
Dr. Santosh Bakaya and Dr. Koshy AV. bring us a cool, collaborative chapbook-Vodka by the Volga,
a poetic celebration of two authors who have taken this spicy route to Russia to the next level in their own two unique styles.
What I really liked is the pace at which these poems seamlessly flow from one to another carrying so many emotions, melancholy, fantasy, and happiness.
As a reader, I could also take so much back with me, for instance, those little ending notes after each poem.
About how the original poem “The Gypsies” was written in iambic tetrameter.
I am sure when one reads they would feel the same and would enjoy reading it in their own space, dreaming, imagining, and listening to these poems.
These poems actually talk! Yes, they really talk to you.
I liked how “Someday, somewhere, somehow” sang to me and I could really dance to the tunes of the dulcimer.
In “the Spell”, I enjoyed the story of the curse of a swan and its longingness to escape its curse.
Also, the second part, written in a very engaging style, is very contemporary in its tone and tenor.
The Afterword by Dr.Koshy, is so beautifully written telling one from where his inspirations were ignited. One must not miss the nice anecdotes that take you time traveling back to olden Kerala. For the guys who have never read Russian classics, you will surely be inspired to add some Pushkin into your soup with some local spices.
Like how every viewer carries with him the recall value of a brand or an advertisement some lines or rhythms stay and linger in every reader’s mind like a song or a beautiful verse. I would like to share two of my favorite lines from Vodka by the Volga.
“I looked askance as you went headlong into a vibrant description of the gypsy camp throbbing between the wheels of carriages, where a flame burns –and a family cooks around it. It burns, it still does as my mind recalls a tame bear, lying uncaged.”
from On dark nights Part 1 by Dr.Santosh Bakaya. And another from Part 2 by Dr.Koshy, was from the poem Nadezhda.
“Nadezhda, I look at your face helpless in my plight I pray to you to give me this day sleep peace, and rest” here in this verse I observed the name almost beautifully became a word an emotion. These two favorite lines from the book stole my heart and there are many more like this I urge you all to read.
What are you waiting for now? Why don’t you go and buy the book on Amazon! If you haven’t yet purchased.
This is how I felt after reading Vodka by the Volga.
For me I want to save these
these set of poetry in Greek, Latin, and Russian
For you, I want to read,
These poems from the side of those noisy geese
From Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Sholokhov
Hey these names rhyme too
For love, obsession, deceit, and life
Traverse in an open-ended ride
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