‘If UAE can, why not others’
DUBAI — Meet Geeta Chhabra, a poet who wishes the tumultuous world to take a cue from peaceloving UAE where people from all races and religion live side by side, materialising their dreams.
In an interview with the Khaleej Times, the Indian poet from Punjab who started writing serious poetry in her late forties, said: “If you ask me what made me write, it’s Dubai. I also owe so much to Nissim Ezekiel, who identified the poet in me and taught me the skills to write good poetry.”
Chhabra said she was so lucky to have Ezekiel, who brought modernity to Indian English poetry, as his mentor in her early days. She was a frequent visitor to his PEN House, which was a meeting place for poets and journalists of the time. She remembers: “I was surprised to see him pointing out a missing punctuation mark in my poem when he was fighting with the Alzheimer’s. He would forget whether he had his meal and argue with his caretaker but when it comes to writing, his memory was sharp.”
The drastic change in her poems written in Mumbai and Dubai is a proof of how Ezekiel was instrumental in polishing her poetry writing skills. Added to that, there came the hard facts of living the life of an expat. Like any other expat, in one of her poems, looking at the vast desert sand lying at her feet, Chhabra asks: “Why was I destined/ To be here?”
Her experience of knowing the UAE and accepting it as second home for more than 19 years, took the form of an anthology titled “An Indian Ode to the Emirates”. It’s a collection of 40 poems supported by photographs and Arabic translation done by Emirati poet Dr Shihab Ghanem. The book is a splendid record of images of sands deserts, mountains, sunsets dawn, camels and Bedouins.
The ongoing skirmishes in various parts of the world, the refugee issues, hunger, poverty are also a fodder for her poetry. She writes:” My heart is rudely shaken/ By this tumultuous world.”
However, Chhabra believes if the world follows the UAE and its principles of coexistence, which was proven since the time of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, peace will prevail everywhere.
As a responsible poet, I must say this. Islam is being practised in the UAE in its purest form. Are we feeling any kind of restriction here? No. The proof is before us.”
She said: ”No religion was spared from human greed and opportunism. As a responsible poet, I must say this. Islam is being practised in the UAE in its purest form. Are we feeling any kind of restriction here? No. The proof is before us.
“We have got over 250 nationalities in the UAE. We have mosques, churches and temples. Everything is disciplined. Everyone lives side by side materialising their dreams.”
“Why is it possible, because
Geeta Chhabra, Indian poet
leaders have a clear vision and intelligence to put their thought process in practice.”
One cannot disagree with the poet when she said if UAE can, why not other countries.
The poet, who bridges two cultures through her poetry, is also the face of Maktoum Foundation’s activities in India, which supports Ekal Vidhyalaya, a movement to provide children of rural and tribal sector with basic education.