Srividya, the poetess from Coimbatore began to read by the age of five and she committed her first poem at the age of seven. She grew up in a house which had books in abundance and has thus far rendered about 800 poems in English. Interestingly this poetess was born to Seetha and Airforce Officer Sivakumar on the eleventh of December and it happens to be the birthday of the great nationalist poet Bharathiar. Srividya did her schooling in a number of Kendriya Vidyalayas before settling down at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Vadavalli for her higher secondary education. After a BA in English Literature at Nirmala College, work experience at Nalanda, post graduate diploma in advertising and communication at the PSG Institute of Management and MA in English Literature from the Annamallai University, Srividya completed her Ph.D ( Bharathiar University ) which was titled ' The Image of women in the novels of Salman Rushdie'. She has been a Tedx speaker and was a columnist for the Metroplus ( Hindu ). Her poems feature in an antholgy of Indian poems - The Peacock's Cry.
Srividya, the poetess from Coimbatore began to read by the age of five and she committed her first poem at the age of seven. She grew up in a house which had books in abundance and has thus far rendered about 800 poems in English. Interestingly this poetess was born to Seetha and Airforce Officer Sivakumar on the eleventh of December and it happens to be the birthday of the great nationalist poet Bharathiar. Srividya did her schooling in a number of Kendriya Vidyalayas before settling down at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Vadavalli for her higher secondary education. After a BA in English Literature at Nirmala College, work experience at Nalanda, post graduate diploma in advertising and communication at the PSG Institute of Management and MA in English Literature from the Annamallai University, Srividya completed her Ph.D ( Bharathiar University ) which was titled ' The Image of women in the novels of Salman Rushdie'. She has been a Tedx speaker and was a columnist for the Metroplus ( Hindu ). Her poems feature in an antholgy of Indian poems - The Peacock's Cry.
The poetess is happily married to Krishna and has dedicated ( says she while doing so : To Krishna. For being my always ) her latest book - ' the heart in the attic ' to him. The poetess was at her best while discussing her career, poetry and her book. " Well, I teach almost everyday. I train people for competitive exams. The students are trained in the art of essay writing, group discussion, verbal skills and preparing for interviews. All my multiple roles are related to the word and I simply love poetry. I call myself a wordsmith and I admire a number of poets who include Arundathi Subramaniam, Leonard Cohen, Pablo Neruda, Vikram Seth. Love reading their work but it would be a crime to say that I am influenced by them for I feel that I simply cannot write like them." Humility at its best was exhibited by the poetess throughout the discussion. The poems in her latest compilation are simply marvellous. It helps the reader to explore the darker side of love in complete manner.
The poem ' Reclaimed Land ' would sure be something that could trigger self confidence..... ' You loved me on display. You loved it when a man put an unwelcome arm around my waist. When a man stripped me with his eyes. I loved your pride. I called it love..... I swapped my whore red lipstick for something light. Strawberry margaraita lip gloss. A hint of the shape that you loved to kiss. But now I claim it all.....This is my body.....This is my heart....This is my life....These are my people. And you are nothing.' Srividya deserves a thunderous applause for having brought out the emotions that are normally not visible and while doing so she has given a solution which is built within her wonderful poetry. Her poetry has clearly underlined the aspects concerned with emotions and the feminist within the poet has ensured that the third world type is made aware of the many roles that life offers. Most people learn poetry at school at a time when they are evolving. Poetry is lost in academics when marks are the only quest. This kind of a unidimensional approach spoils the process of poetry reading for it makes it dreary. The only time people get to enjoy poetry is along with music. It is also a missing piece from our childhood that is seldom recovered during adulthood. Poetry should be read for the sake of doing so for it helps us to communicate with ourselves when it is essential. Unfortunately it does not happen . The joy of reading a poem cannot be measured and the works of Srividya reinforce this statement.
Srividya had read all the novels of Salman Rushdie upto the ' Enchantress of Florence ' as part of her work in connection with her thesis and she has of course read the rest for pleasure. She was glad to add up further, " I am often described as a feminist writer, maybe because I write strong poetry. I do believe that I am a feminist but do not believe that I am doing something unusual. My poetry is influenced by the world that I see and in fact ancient poetry has a streak of frankness while hypocracy did not exist like now. The society was free and taboos were hardly existant. Our own Tamil poetry was open. We have to understand that third world feminism is very different from first world feminism. Its all about what the strong women in our lives have been practicing. They are mothers, sisters, wives, working women and they handle homes, spouses, collegues, family and friends. They do it without giving up any role. That's the feminism that I am on board with. We do not have to reject roles and we have to embrace them in order to become stronger. I have great role models in my life and they are women who include my mother, aunts,friends, sister Shantini (who introduced me to vocabulary )and my mother in law who supports me at all times. The third world women are very strong and they did not make a great deal out of it. They do not tom tom their strengths. Their resilience is like the foundation and is seldom visible."
The poetry of Srividya speaks volumes. She is candid while speaking about her poems. " I can take a joke at the expense of being a poet and I think poetry is the job of a lazy person. I could write a poem while making a dosa. Sometimes a word or a phrase or an expresion is the trigger for a poem. We read to know that we are not alone. My poetry is essentially women oriented and I write a lot about the darker side of love. Betrayal, obsessive love and pain caused by love are all part of this. I read a lot for one cannot be a good writer without that. We get to understand that young people are ready to undergo stress in connection with romance. As one grows older adjustment is the order of the day because older people do a lot more responsibilities. Its important to move on in spite of emotional failures. " The poems of Srividya are like the helpful oars that could help people facing emotional challenges cross their seas of temporary misery.
'The Heart in the Attic' is the latest from Srividya and the opinion of Arundathi Subramaniam in this regard gives the glow of recognition - "Srividya Sivakumar's poems speak of the raw indignity of desire and places of festering desolation ' where darkness is a breathing person', even as they explore some of the contradictions of love, including the fierce yearning to be ' yours enslaved,urgent,free.' Here is a book that unlocks the uncomfortable rooms of the human heart with vulnerability, courage and wry humour. A fractured house begins to turn whole again in the process, inviting the reader to a deeply human journey of self reclamation." In the world of today, the work of Srividya is sure to add to the energy of the many youngsters who have undergone emotional challenges in their lives. This collection of poems are sure to help them introspect and the process is sure to assist them to take their lives forward.
The best review for the current compilation can be from Anupama Sekhar - Director , Culture, Asia - Europe Foundation, Singapore. Srividya and Anupama have known each other for long. In the words of Anupama, " The attic! This darkly brooding, unkempt little room is the antechamber of the heart. It resides in each one of us: the only custodian of our truest ( but oft hidden ) self. Packed with old suitcases full of half forgotten, but not yet abandoned, loves, desires and grievances, the attic is our confessional. And Srividya its confessor in this collection, The Heart is an Attic ". Profound words for attics are always sought by the seekers and believers alike. Srividya is principally a poet whose work is based on female experience. Her poems echo the professional, urban woman who shuffles herself between her aspirations and the demands which are dictated by the people in her life.
Anupama uses appropriate words while stating further - " Srividya is the poet of Everywoman's romantic life and her unabashed female sexuality.....She investigates the complex nature of the companionship that exists between a man and a woman..... Hers is an unflinching dissection of the many moods of love: mundane, just a little careless, wishing for more, pungent. In her hands, the topic of ' love ' turns matryoshka doll, keeps unravelling....I found comfort that I discovered in this outstanding collection of poetry: that there is some measure of redemption in art. Because our fragile, yearning and easily disappointed human heart is willing to accept in art, the ambiguity it so staunchly resists in life. Read these poems. Let them speak to you. And then let it be."
Srividya was eager to share more, " The reason I write in the first place is for myself and my need to speak - often unutterable - thoughts and feelings. The Heart is an Attic is a result of that soul searching. Anupama Sekhar enriches the work by stating further - In the Heart is an Attic , Srividya becomes an unparalled rappouteur of the nature of creative life. Here the artist is also lover,partner,wife,homemaker and daughter in law :
and there things to be done
as far as the eye can see
even poets lead mundane lives
they are hosts, they are wives
there are demands made on their time
and there are people waiting
but not in line
The poem ' EGGS ' is fantastic and worth every moment....
even the most hard boiled man
fried in the heat of a no frills space
filled with memories and promises of babies
who need to be coddled
is scrambled like a well made breakfast.....
The Ethos Literary Journal has sent along nominations for the ' Best of Net ' to Darren. C. Demaree, Managing Editor, Best of Net Anthology and the poem " Bamboo " by Poetess Srividya Sivakumar has been nominated along with the work of Tia Paul - Louis, Jake Tringali, Sanjeev Sethi, Amit Parmessur, Dah and Bankim Let. Its a moment of celebration for the poetess from Coimbatore.
Poetess Srividya is sure to soar higher while adding fame to herself and her city - Coimbatore.