Science with satire, CDRI techie mixes up the perfect cocktail
Kaise bane sahara dil Blood pumping ka maara dil Pyaar ghata hai, fat badha hai Cholestrol ka maara dil
A lab technician by profession and a poet by heart, the author of this offbeat piece of poetry well knows how to mix work with passion.
Meet 32-year-old Pankaj Prasoon, one of the rare poets in the country who writes catchy couplets on science. Employed with the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) here, Prasoon’s work has received acknowledgement from the department of science and technology (DST) which has not only awarded him with cash prize but also commissioned him to write a poetry book on atomic energy. The book -- Aao Parmanu Se Prem Karein – aims to sort out wrong notions prevalent in the society about atomic energy.
“It’s nice to know that I am among the first persons to write poetry and satire on science. However, it is a difficult job. Science is widely believed to be a boring subject and thus mixing humour in it to attract the youth is a real challenge,” says Prasoon, recipient of the Yuva Ratna Samman at Lucknow Mahotsav in 2013.
Throwing light on his muchacclaimed book, Prasoon says, “My book was distributed in the areas where the power plants are located. All we wanted to do was bust popular myths about atomic energy.”
Prasoon, who is well known among city poets, says he developed interest in writing science satire years ago when he went to participate in IIT-Kanpur’s ‘Antaragni’ fest. “Representing Lucknow University, I bagged all prizes in the literary section. This is when my teachers motivated me to write more on science,” says Prasoon.
And thus were born lines
like: Samandar ki hai bechaini, usey sahil nahi milta,
Yahan to aadmi ka aadmi se dil nahi milta,
Jahan par khoon Hindustan ka rag rag mein behta hai,
Wahan ki pattiyon mein aaj chlorophyl nahi milta
Because of his unique talent, Prasoon’s work has appeared in leading newspapers of the country.
“Writing for newspapers means a lot to me. They are the best medium to send your message to the masses,” concludes Prasoon.