Dr. Dalip Khetarpal’s ‘Refractions’—an Overview

By, Alan Jacobs

Dr. Dalip Khetarpal may best be termed a Brilliant Poetic Innovator and at the same time a Poetic Genius. I quote from his own introduction:

Deviating from the current trend, I pioneered a new genre in the field of poetry writing. I would like to call my earlier poems ‘Psycho-Psychic flints’. These flints are thought- provoking, scientific & logical in nature, but take on an imaginative and emotional coloring. The poems are flints because they emit sparks when they hit against the readers’ mind. They are psycho-psychic in nature because the material drawn for the poems is partially from personal experience and partially from psychology, psychiatry and other sciences. The concept of poetry as propounded by William Wordsworth is that “poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings and emotions…(recollected in tranquility)”, but psycho-aesthetic truth according to me is that poetry is a spontaneous overflow of powerful psychological ideas recollected in tranquility/intranquility or in an extremely disturbed state of mind. Further, my focus has been to explore and lay bare the myriad layers of unconscious and subconscious mind of man, because it is in this hidden consciousness that the truth of man lies. In doing so, my poetry becomes scientific and investigative in nature, but then it also assumes an unconventional shape with certain subtle nuances of weirdness.’

His truly amazing poems admirably speak for themselves, and in this masterly volume we have numerous fine Poems illustrating his own Poetic Philosophy. To illustrate his genius and ingenuity I quote four intriguing Titles out of the twenty one in this highly original collection. ‘After Death, What?’. ‘Be

Not Social Chameleons’, ‘Dream or Reality’, ‘Preserve the

Aura of Mystery’.

These enigmatic Titles are some example of his prowess and illustrate the deep profundity of a highly talented Poet who is not afraid to attempt challenging philosophic themes, a rare and difficult venture in the Poetic field; but Dr. Khetarpal conquers this challenge with remarkable masterly skill and ingenuity. Every Poem in this most unique and astonishing book surprises in this way, yet succeeds in a highly original but successful manner.

In ‘Man Versus Beast’ he writes: Seeing a man flogging a horse,

Nietzsche, a great philosopher, Suffered mental breakdown.

But then, the cruelest treatment Of wretched animals in India Would have surely caused him Instant cardiac arrest!

This short extract shows how Dr. Khetarpal has the courage and skill to tackle deep philosophic questions with great poetic skill, often with humor, and at the same time making an original statement of his own. This fine Collection is filled with such original verses, which will surely interest all those readers who enjoy both fine Poetry and Philosophic Questioning, especially when they are handled with such great skill.

In ‘Spirituality and Sensuality–Oddest Admixture. ‘

He writes:

After laundering his body

A man enters a temple

To launder his soul

That catches dirt sensual

Or some verminous substance Of unknown origin,

As soon as he emerges from it. The process of doing up

And undoing the laundering

Of his body and soul

Though unwittingly,

Goes on repeatedly, unabated… Till he dies.

I cannot not think of any other Poet who has ever dared to tackle major philosophic questions, with such courage, challenging poetic skill, and has succeeded so well.

This magnificent volume is a cornucopia of such achievements, combining major problems which vex the human mind with great poetic ability. I do not wish to spoil the reader’s surprise and enjoyment when he reads these trenchant verses which are indeed a joy in themselves. Such an original volume is a veritable education in itself and may be termed ‘Metaphysics Without Tears’. It is certainly a bold original work, and I know of no other Poet who has dared to achieve this feat with such bravado, literary skill and ingenuity.

Alan Jacobs

Poet, Writer, Author

U.K.