Shatakottari Orakhada

The essence of poetry lies in giving words to silence. Giving voice to the silence of mysteries that transcend reason is the quiet, unspoken process at the heart of poetic creation.

Rajiv Joshi’s poetry explores, at its very core, the erosion of fundamental cultural values and the disillusionment and frustration that follow; the proliferation of artificial and deceptive values; the lifeless, insensitive idols of empty rhetoric; and the unsettled relationships left suspended in uncertainty, born out of an anguished social atmosphere and a stunted system. These are the dimensions of his poetry, captured through a penetrating and incisive engagement with words.

The poet understands the true essence of authentic poetry: to keep probing the depths of meaninglessness while bringing to life the profound significance concealed beneath the surface. To express reality while bearing its scorching intensity, one needs an inner composure that is detached yet compassionate. Rajiv Joshi’s poetry seems to possess this cooling shade naturally, as though it were an innate gift.

He has understood the essence of poetry as the art of offering the restrained shade of words to an outcry of anguish. Consequently, compassion, gathering densely like dark rain clouds, becomes the life-sustaining principle of his poetry.

Rajiv Joshi’s poetry is like a succession of fading moments in which someone has cruelly crushed the delicate fragrance of jasmine, leaving behind the poignancy of its wilting beauty.

— Prof. Ashok Bagwe