Som Prakash Ranchan is an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n poet writing in English, a scholar, a literary critic, a revisionist of Indian culture, literary and secular personalities, and a novelist born in Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

 Cantt (now in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

). He has often been described as a “Poet of Many Voices” with the note of mythical/mystical themes noticeable in his writings. His psycho-analytical studies have the influence of the depth psychology

Depth psychology

Historically, depth psychology, from a German term , was coined by Eugen Bleuler to refer to psychoanalytic approaches to therapy and research that take the unconscious into account. The term has come to refer to the ongoing development of theories and therapies pioneered by Pierre Janet, William...

 of Carl Jung

Carl Jung

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...

, Adler

Adler

The term Adler, the German word for the bird of prey "eagle", is both the last name of many people and an emblematic bird featured on many blazons since the feudal age, including the present German Bundeswappen and at times on the flags of Austria and Germany...

 and Freud; the mythological studies of Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell

Joseph John Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience...

; the spiritual endeavors of Aurobindo, Otto Rank

Otto Rank

Otto Rank was an Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, teacher and therapist. Born in Vienna as Otto Rosenfeld, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, an editor of the two most important analytic journals, managing director of Freud's...

, Rudolfe, Vedanta

Vedanta

Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...

 and Tantra

Tantra

Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....

, and the philosophical notions that of Schopenhauer.

Background

Som Ranchan was born in Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

, British India. His father was an employee of the Accountant General’s Office at Lahore which was shifted to Shimla

Shimla

Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...

 (Himachal Pradesh) following India-Pakistan partition in 1947. He had to migrate to India along with his mother, father, three brothers and a sister. This displacement ruined the family fortunes; the siblings had misgivings about career and education which made them anxious and restless. One of the brothers, Vijay Ranchan, qualified Civil Services and retired as an Additional Chief Secretary, Gujarat. Som Ranchan absented from college and worked in Delhi picking up some odd jobs like insurance, marketing and reporting for an English magazine Delhi Mirror (although a very short lived magazine). He himself describes the year 1951-1954 as the “Struggle Period” of his life. During the struggling years, Ranchan completed his MA (Eng) as a private candidate. If one has to know more about Ranchan one needs to read and understand his works better, as he proclaims: “All my poetry is autobiographical”(Journal of Indian Writing in English,1980) The author however, feels that the above quote doesn't truly represent him as it is decontexualized. The critical consensus is that Ranchan's poetry is many-layered, it is personal, experiential of life and times and truly archetypal. The consensus further is that he is an epic poet and specially an inventor of dialogue epics on secular and spiritual Wisdom Figures

Career in teaching

In 1954, Ranchan started teaching and established himself as a teacher. One after the other Ranchan taught in four different colleges (including Vaish College, Bhiwani, Hisar; Malerkotla, Erstwhile Princely State, PEPSU). Finally, he taught in Govt. Mahindra College, Patiala from where he went to United States of America on Fulbright Fellowship (1960–1964). His first four year stay in USA as a fellow for 3 years and an instructor for a year on California State University, Northridge resulted in a prose book sojourn in America. Later on the California State University, Fullerton he gave courses in American and English literature in addition to Group Process, Dream Work, Basic Principles of Jungian Psychology, team taught with a certified Jungian Psychologist, Pan Coucoulis. He created many new courses in literature and interdisciplinary studies such as, "Search for Self: East and West", "Yoga", "Graduate Seminar in Walt Whitman", "Senior Seminar in J. D. Salinger", and "Seminar in R. K. Narayan and Raja Rao" to name only a few. He was an immensely popular teacher who classes where always packed and who was known for his care for and attention to students. During this period, he wrote much outstanding poetry including "Me and Columbia" (later called America with Love), "Christ and I", "Mother Sarada and I" and many other brilliant poems.

His most quoted poem “Blind Beggar” is also a part of curriculum in India as also more than hundred research papers have been published centering his works.

He guided Doctoral Research of 25 students at HP University in addition to M.Phil. guidance to scores of students.In his post-Retirement since 1992 he extended his research mentorship to anther 26 students belonging to different universities.

Writing career

The interest in writing poetry generated in Ranchan when he had just started his studies at college, as a student of graduation. During his sojourn in America he stayed with Raja Rao

Raja Rao

Raja Rao was an Indian writer of English language novels and short stories, whose works are deeply rooted in Hinduism. Raja Rao's semi-autobiographical novel, The Serpent and the Rope , is a story of a search for spiritual truth in Europe and India...

 in Austin, Texas, (for almost a week) with whom he shared a lot of spiritual experiences which he had described in one of his lectures delivered in Himachal Pradesh University. On Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman

Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...

, he did his PhD from the University of Wisconsin. Thereafter, the passion for writing had taken a path never trod by anyone as the impact of Walt Whitman and his writings, somehow, still prevails in a latent form. As Kirpal Singh describes it : “the libidinous nature of touch in Whitman…equally pronounced in Ranchan”. The impact of such stylistics could be seen in his “America with Love.” Ranchan's Ph.D. dissertation substantially advanced the understanding of Whitman as the pre-eminent poet of the soul. He brought to his work on Whitman an insight and understanding only an Indian steeped in Tantra could reveal. Ranchan defends these claims with a note of relative vitality: “I am not a clone of Walt Whitman but do use chant, catalogue style.” It need be noted that Ranchan's poetry has a lyricism rarely felt in Whitman.

He came back from America and taught for three years as an Associate Professor of English in the Punjabi University, Patiala (1964–66). Soon after, he went back to United States of America and taught there for almost six years at California State University, Fullerton where he held many administrative responsibilities:“The Executive Council” (1970–71), “Comparative Literature Committee” (1972–1974), “Asian Studies Committee” (1974–75), “Interdisciplinary Studies” where he worked as a Professor (1968–77), “Membership of C.G. Jung Club of Southern California, U.S.A.”. Ranchan’s diaspora was full of joy, cheers, and a learning experience for him. It was in California that his interest in comparative literature developed Ranchan as a writer. The experience of which, he claims: “shows in my [his] writings.” He became, as he quotes: “an Indo-American, mediating, relating across the board.” More than anything, Ranchan's range in poetry displays a remarkable mind with both profound curiosity and a nature with the deepest desire to explore the spiritual. The range of his poetry and its multiple voices is likewise quite rare. His oetry displays mastery of both Indian esoteric traditions of Vedanta and Tantra and, Western depth psychology and religious figures. More than anything, Ranchan's perceives and reveals the myth that operates in all of our lives.

His experience of teaching diverse courses, exposure to American people from all walks of life, his pastoral counselling for the Church of Antioch, Order of Missionary Ministers, become the tap root of his creativity and inter-diciplnary rangings in subjects as diverse as political theory, folklore, myth, psychology, therapy etc.

I

Works

Short Verse

The Splintered Mirror (1960)

Loose Ends (1986)

In the Labyrinth of the Self (1988)

Long Dialogue Poems

Christ and i (1982)

Mother Sharda and I

To Vivek Then I Came (1984)

Soul-Making with Sri Aurbindo (1986)

To Krishna with Love (1986)

Manjushri: Tibetan Buddha (1993)

Shirgul Parmar

Dwarf Titan

Paramahansa Ramkrishan

Kali (1998)

The Man Said (1998)

Anteros (1992)

Friendship Sahridya (1992)


Epics and Epic Cycle

Me and Columbia (1960)
rechristened as America with Love (1987)

She (1987)

Devi (1988)

Nigmas (1989)

Shirdi Sai
Criticism, Religion, Psychology etc.

Walt Whitman (1967)

Salinger’s Glass Family (1989)

Sri Aurbindo, A Myriad-Minded Genius (1989)

India that is Bharat (1998)

Dobe Kit: Self Therapy (1998)

Swami Vivekananda, Insan-e-Kamal (1998)

Passage to Punjab

Folk Tales of Himachal (1982)

Sojourn in America (1985)

Durga Saptashati: Transcreation (1986)

An Anatomy of Indian Psyche (1988)

Sri Aurobindo as a Political Thinker (1998)

New Insights on Gita

Salinger’s Glass Family : An Adventure with Vedanta (1989)

Aurbindonion Yoga Revisioned (1992)

Jawaharlal Nehru: Puer Aeternus (1991)

Bonding with Bond (2007)

Mantra Manual (2008)

Dalai Lama: A Talkathon Scroll (2008)

Awards

• Fulbright Fellowship, 1960
• Smith-Mundt Fellowship, 1961
• University of Wisconsin Fellowship, 1962
• Hazen Foundation Fellowship, 1962–63
• Govt of India (HRD Award) for a project on the Hero Folktale of Shima district, 1993
• Himachal Academy Award for a folklore project, 1993
• Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study
  Indian Institute of Advanced Study
  The Indian Institute of Advanced Study is a prestigious research institute based in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and it started functioning from October 20, 1965....
  
  , 1995–98

Criticism

Som Ranchan is known for his elaborate style, mythical, mystical allusions, burrowing the deep layers of culture and personalities. His voice in his poetry is neither of an extrovert or an introvert but consists of the polyphonic echoes, predominantly of a centrovert. Ranchan claims that obscure poetry discourages “common reader” but is essential to sustain variety of “multi-culturism, mythical and archetypal reverberations and metaphysical experiences” (Kirpal Singh). Orrington Ramsay, Professor of English, California State University (USA), opines: “Som P. Ranchan’s lyrical tongue is the ultimate universal love of earth, of man, and of the gods…he incorporates the lush cadences of our own English verse and the mystic vision of India” (“Back Cover” Som P. Ranchan: A Poet of Many Voices, 1994). For the readers of Ranchan, a collection of papers by the most prominent scholars of India, Ved Sharma’s A Profile in Creativity(1992) is an ever illuminating endeavor. Usha Bande opines that” Som P. Ranchan’s ‘Blind Beggar’, sitting astride a Shimla road is perceptive enough to know the passers-by. He[the beggar] as the narrator, is quite intelligent and far from being a pathetic, stinking presence.” Citing some rhetorical questions, Kirpal Singh opines: “Is Ranchan’s poetry derivative or idiosyncratically original? Does it belong to any tradition?” Besides these, there is a long list of subsequent criticism and interviews:

Special issue on the poetry of Som Ranchan,Ken (Autumn 1990)

Ved Sharma, ”Representation of Self in Ranchan’s Poetry”

A.K. Srivastava, “Iconography of Experience: Poetry of Som P. Ranchan.”

Kirpal Singh,” Som P. Ranchan: The Poet of Eros.”

Kirpal Singh, Som P. Ranchan: A Poet of Many Voices

Anil Wilson,”The Poetry of Som P. Ranchan: An Overview”

Ranjit S. Sra,” Som P. Ranchan’s Lexical Journey to the Spirit”

Janesh Kapoor,”Relationships: A Note on Ranchan’s Anteros”

Lalit Mohan Sharma, “The Wounded Quester and Anteros”

B.M. Sagar,”Som’s Energy: Soul Making with Sri Aurobindo”

Sankaran Ravindran, “Magical-Religious Indian consciousness in America with Love”

R.S. Pathak, “Ranchan’sPoetry;Some Preliminary Observations”

A.N. Dwivedi,”Ranchan’s Short Verse”

Jaidev, “She: An Appreciation”

D.N. Verma, “Ranchan’s Psychedelia on Identity”

External links

• http://www.allbookstores.com/author/Som_P_Ranchan_2728787-1.html
• http://openlibrary.org/a/OL3184550A - 11k
• http://www.bookrags.com/criticism/j-d-salinger-crit4_2/
• http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080114/chd.htm
• http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050128/ldh1.htm
• http://himachalpr.gov.in/printEng.asp?id=712
• http://www.vrindaindia.com/
• http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2001/fjul2001/f250720011.html
• http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19981208/34251874.html
• http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010812/spectrum/books.htm

books.google.co.in/books?isbn=8170172403

• http://www.books.google.co.in/books?isbn=8126011963
• http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050128/ldh1.htm
• http://www.vedamsbooks.com/no21573.htm
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Som-P.-Ranchan/e/B001ICLAWG
• http://www.vedamsbooks.com/no24133.htm

Media

• http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1083641/bonding_with_bond_a_book_on_ruskin_bond/
• http://www.metacafe.com/watch/400748/graphite_squishytage/ “In Conversation” an interview, on Delhi Doordarshan
  DoorDarshan
  Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
  
  with Rajiv Mehrotora.