Sutanuka Ghosh Roy
BOOK REVIEW
Book Title: Cloud Nine
Author: Paramita Mukherjee Mullick
Published by Inking Innovations, Mumbai, 2022
Paramita Mukherjee Mullick is a scientist by profession and a poet by passion. Cloud Nine is her ninth book of poems and contains sixty poems divided into five sections. In the foreword to the book the poet writes, “Every time I compile my poems to publish a book, I am thrilled, I feel I am on Cloud nine. So, this thrill, and this book being my ninth book ignited in me the idea of naming this book, “Cloud Nine”. I divided the poems into sections with the names of different types of clouds”. As she takes a trip down memory lane she remembers how as a child her mother used to take her to the terrace and taught her the names of the different types of clouds. So, clouds bring back lovely memories and they also inspire her to write poems. The sections of this book are Cumulus, Nimbus, Cirrus, Stratus, and Altocumulus. Classification of clouds was first done by Luke Howard in 1802 and we largely follow the same system. While tracing the etymology of Cloud Nine, one finds that the International Cloud Atlas described ten types of clouds in 1896, the ninth being Cumulonimbus, the highest cloud of about 10 km. So being on Cloud Nine is like floating on the tallest cloud on Earth. Here the poet has tried to poetically compare her poems with the different types of clouds. She has added her sketches in this poetry collection which add to the overall aesthetic experience of the book.
Clouds are the philosophers of the sky signifying the fragile, ever-changing nature of life. They personify the unattainable and the unknowable, carrying diverse meanings and emotions — from turmoil to enchantment. Clouds denote the intermediary world between the visible and the hidden, the present and the absent. They are symbolic of forms in a state of metamorphosis and hence ambiguous. They present the immutable quality of higher truth. Cloud Nine is an expression used to express an elevated state of happiness due to success recognition or emotional satisfaction. In scientific terms, Cloud Nine is the common name for clouds formed by cumulus clouds converted by time into cumulonimbus clouds. The poet is a happy person and Cloud Nine bears testimony to her happiness.
Let me be a rainbow in your life. Spreading blue all around. Taking you in the ocean of knowledge to dive.
Mullick’s poems reveal a new perspective towards life. The words hold promise and unflinching love. In ‘Rainbow Clouds’ the poet looks back and reminiscences the dark days of Covid-19. The poet’s evocation of darkness and the gleam of luminosity is quite impressive –
The rainbow clouds were the sentinels of happiness. Lockdown was no more and all could meet again. Disease and dread vanished and waned. Uncertainties became history and the world came alive.
Mothers are our anchors. Mullick offers a touching tribute to her mother in the poem ‘Voice’ as she now carries the mellifluous voice of her mother within her.
The mellifluous solacing voice. The voice of the most beautiful lady on earth. The octogenarian, forgetting all but still the positivity in the voice. Oh, mother! So blessed to be your child, so blessed that you to me gave birth.
Cloud Nine is a story of nostalgia kneaded with hope. The collection is a palette of emotions. Cityscape holds a central position in her life and her poem ‘Mi Mumbaikar’ seems to reflect the city’s warmth which holds her firmly. The language is simple and simplicity is an art. The poet ignores the trivialities in life and looks at the sky enveloped by clouds,
The tall trees pushing their heads above. The clouds dancing in the mosaic of colours. Happiness spilled all over the sky The colours merging with the other, like the merging of dye.
This looking beyond catapults the entire collection to a different plane. To find joy in the little things of life is what life is all about. She is optimistic and is filled with renewed hope,
Dreams which have not been fulfilled. Love which has not been reciprocated. Let our hearts fulfill such dreams. Kintsugi all broken hearts with love up to the brim.
One can feel the warmth of positivity long after one finishes reading the book.
Dr. Sutanuka Ghosh Roy
Dr. Sutanuka Ghosh Roy is an Associate Professor of English at Tarakeswar Degree College, The University of Burdwan. She has published widely and presented papers at National and International Seminars and is a regular contributor to anthologies, national and international journals of repute.The titles of her book are Critical Inquiry: Text, Context, and Perspectives and Commentaries: elucidating poetics, Rassundari Dasi’s Amar Jiban. Ashprishya (translated into Bengali, a novel by Sharan Kumar Limbale,). She is a reviewer, a poet, and a critic.