BOOKS
The glimpses of the setting sun from my childhood nostalgically dissolve in the abundantly spread hues of the setting sun on the skyline of this beautiful country, Canada, to which I now belong and this creates a new sunshine within. This sunshine melts in me and flows out in the form of verses. Distances fade; my past becomes one with my present, rising sun of the East starts blending into the setting sun of the West. The directions merge into each other fading into the moments beyond.
My art searchs for the universal duality, a relationship between the subject and the object, spirit and the matter,trying to find the totality in this influx of paradoxes, in an effort to unlock the mysteries of life. The eternal agony ofhuman desire within longs in a ceaseless strive to capture the very essence of each and every fleeting moment. Reflections of a passing feeling of being touched by the limitless remain for a while and then disappear into a stark silence of an unknown abstract reality.”- Meena Chopra
मेरा जन्म स्थल 'नैनीताल' उत्तरी भारत में स्थित एक सुंदर एवं सौम्य पर्वतीय नगर है और यह सदा ही मेरी आतंरिक प्रेरणा का स्रोत रहा है | विस्मित हूँ की मेरी कर्म भूमि कैनाडा का प्राकृतिक सौंदर्य मुझे मेरे बचपन से जोड़ता हुआ सदैव ही मुझे उसकी याद दिलाता रहता है |
विशेषतः यहाँ का असीमित आकाश और उसके अंत में डूबता सूरज, क्षितिज पर बहते रंगों के साथ दूर - दूर निगाहों के छोर तक फैली धरती, यह सब मुझ में आकर जैसे थम सा जाता है | वहां अपने बचपन से जुड़े नैनीताल की पहाड़ी के पीछे डूबते सूरज को मैं जब भी यहाँ कैनाडा में अपनी खिड़की के सामने फैले क्षितिज पर देखती हूँ तो पूर्व का वह सूरज पश्चिम के सूरज में विलीन होता चला जाता है | मेरा कल मेरे आज में ढल जाता है | मुझ में एक नया सूरज जन्म ले लेता है और कविताओं में बहने लगता है |
अंधेरों और उजालों की गोद में पड़ा एक रिसता हुआ रिश्ता, पुरूष और प्रकृति के बीच की दूरियों को नापता हुआ, कुछ जलती और बुझती कहानियो में अपनी प्रतिबिम्बित पहचान को खोजता अक्सर खो जाता है |
— और इन उड़ते हुए पलों के आभास को अपनी मुट्ठी में बंद कर लेने कि एक अंतहीन तड़प, दृश्य को अदृश्य में परिणत करती हुई इस ठहरे बहाव की एक निरी सच्चाई, मेरे मूक होते हुए शब्दों में कुछ कहती हुई चुप हो जाती है |
मैं अपने रेखाचित्रों की लकीरों में, रंग भरी तूलिका से अपने कैनवास के स्पर्श में, पंक्तियों में बिखरते शब्दों में और इस तरह कई बार अपनी लेखनी और कागज़ के बीच की छटपटाहट में, मानव चेतना के छलावे को अक्सर खोजती हूँ |
Cover of "Subah kaa suraj ab mera nahin hai (Adieu to the Dawn)" is a digital variation of my painting 'Fire Ball'. Cover of 'Ignited Lines' is my painting from 'Adrift' series. is in collection of Air India, national carrier of India
- IGNITED LINES: Poems with drawings in English(Publishers: Virgo Ist Edition, Hindi Writers' Guild, 2nd Edition)
- SUBEH KA SURAJ AB MERA NAHIN HAI(ADIEU TO THE DAWN): Poems in Hindi with drawings trans-literated in Urdu & Roman scripts(Publisher: HINDI WRITERS' GUILD, CANADA)
Some Comments:
"Meena Chopra will not have too many words getting in between the ignition of an idea and its consummation. It must be having to do with the fact that she also paints. Her poems have neat compactness of paintings; words become colours that fill up the canvas if-or when she is not using her brush.
Ignited Lines, Meena’s first volume of verse, is therefore not for the gallery; rather, it is a gallery. You can browse through it, but you will periodically pause, much like when confronted with a new painting that has succeeded in achieving the different, a range and depth of emotions far removed from the every day clichés of existential dilemmas, not existence. She unveils shimmering facets of love, possession, mind and self with sensitivity. She is delicate but strong, gentle yet sharp, vulnerable yet proud. Self-actualization is more a matter of routine than effort; it is the moment beyond the ones of self knowledge that she wants to live up to, and become, not a mere rhapsody in search of life but a rhapsody in search of the deeper self. In this sense she is her own Sun, her own guiding star as is brightly revealed in the poem ‘Fire’".
- Gautam Siddharth— The Pioneer (Book reviews), Delhi, (India) 28.9.1996
"As well known in art circles for her painting as her poetry – she often combines the two – Chopra’s work focuses on the natural and abstractly emotional, showcasing a humanistic philosophy she also applies to her personal life".
-The Mississauga News, J.P. Antonacci|Mar 01, 2010
"Chopra shines in art and poetry - Coming to Canada from her native India, artist and poet Meena Chopra’s search for meaning has taken her far beyond home and finding her new identity in Canada."
-The Mississauga News|Feb 28, 2010
"When Meena Chopra gazes at sunsets from the window of her Mississauga home, she's transported back to her childhood in northern India. For the internationally acclaimed poet and artist, it's inspiration that has filled countless pages and canvases with colourful words and images".
-Toronto Star, Jim Wilkes Aug 09 2010
"Each one of the forty expressions picturise a lived reality, an experienced emotion, a missed heartbeat without being sentimental about it. Nothing comes as after thought or an overstatement. She is precise and matter of fact even in articulations …"..
- Suresh Kohli (on "Ignited Lines")The Hindu, Delhi, 1.12 1996
“...by one who is also an artist, a painter, provides perhaps an alternative and additional medium of self expression to a surcharged personality. It is the story of a soul that is caught in the throes of trying to unravel the mystery of the self in terms of subjective experience. “
- Dr. Shalini Sikka, The Weekend Observer (Review) Delhi(India) January 4 1997
"A characteristic of her style is that physical sensations beautifully blend with abstract thought – yearning for fulfillment is attended upon by consciousness of fragmentation.”
- Dr. Shalini Sikka The Quest, Ranchi (India) 1996)
"Ignited Lines, a collection of poems by Meena Chopra, expresses desire for ignition of the mind for illumination in a world of duality and paradoxes.”
- Dr. Shalini Sikka The Journal Of The Poetry Society (India), 1996
“Images have been made use of in abundance while expressing her feelings, thoughts and views .... The poems are short but very powerful and impressive indeed! Meena strikes with force to show her caliber of thinking which is on par with any Indian modern poet who is of great repute.”
- M. Fakhruddin, Poets International, Banglore, (India) December 1996
"Her works are the rhythmic expression of the state of the subconscious. “Sparkling vacuum that glimmers and floats in the morning breeze….” or “A chilly winter blossoming in spring…”
- Soumik Mukhopadhyaya -The Statesman, Delhi, (India) 20th August 1999
"कविता की भाषा में उनके संग्रह की असंलक्ष्य क्रम व्यंग्यध्वनि पढ़ने वाले को, अगर सचमुच वह सहृदय भावुक है, तो उसे एकाएक कौंधेगा कि यह कवयित्री व्यंजना के सहारे कितनी मार्मिक बात कह रही है और उसके भीतर की करुणा का आकाश कितनी दूर तक भासमान है। असल में आँखों से दीख पड़ने वाले आकाश से कहीं बड़ा और अपरिमेय है बंद आँखों का आकाश।”
-डॉ.कैलाश वाजपेयी
"Painting and poems go very well together. There is vitality in the forms, colours and the words chosen by Meena Chopra. Here is a charming feast of lyricism in paintings and poems".
- Dr. L.M. Singhvi
"उनकी कविताएं परिपक्व कविता का ठोस नमूना हैं जो जीवन में संबन्धों को नई व्याख्या देती हैं। विदेशों में रची जा रही कविताओं में मीना चोपड़ा की कविताओं का स्थान विशिष्ट माना जाएगा।"
- तेजेन्द्र शर्मा
"Your work expresses a dynamic of power, emotions, and fear. Only a great mind and a multi layered individual could construe the creations that you have set forth. I know I don't know you but through your work, I feel that I do. Your work portrays something more than the picture. It conjures up raw emotion"
-Vique Mora, USA
“Accompanying the cluster of these lovely oil pastels worked out like ’two inches of ivory’ are her versus. The words and the visuals support each other and the viewer is taken on to a journey to the end of the clouds. Look at her art or read her poetry there is a feeling of scaling heights, going to the mist of the mountains and scenting the fragrant pines.”
-Nirupama Dutt, Indian Express (India), August 22 1999
"The embryonic bond that she shares with nature forms the keynote of her work. Words freeze the impalpable fears finding their refuge in the womb of earth”.
- First City Delhi India 1999
"Meena Chopra’s poetry mirrors her acute sensibilities which, in turn, enmesh with her deft strokes on canvas.”
- S. Rajoo, The Times of India, Delhi, 23. 7. 1996
“مینا کے رنگ کینو س پر بکھر تے ہیں تو شا عری کر تے ہیں اور جب وہ شا عری کر تی ہے تو دھنک کے رنگ اس کی شا عری کے کینوس پر بکھر جا تے ہیں- مینا کی رو ح فطر ت کے حسن سے جڑی ہو ئ ہے اور جب اسکا حسا س دل اور سو چتی آ نکھیں ان منا ظر سے گزر تے ہیں تو عشق کے آ وے پر ا حسا س کی مور تیا ں ڈ ھا لتے ہا تھ جلتے ہو ئے چر ا غو ں جیسی نظمیں قطا ر در قطا ر سجا تے چلے جا تے ہیں"
-Nasim Syed
(Meena Chopra ek shaiira he nahen artist bhe hy iis leye shayad jb iis ky rang canvas per bikharte hen to rang shaiire kerte hen aur jab woh shaiire ker te hy to dhanak ke rang us ke shaiire ky canvas per bikhar jate heN. Meena ki rooh fitrat ky husn sy juree hoE hy aur jab eska hassas dil aur soochte ankheen iin manazir sy guzar te heN to ishq ke aaway per ehssas ke morteyaN dhaltee hath jalty hoE charagon jise nazmeen qatar der qatar sajate chalee jate heN....Nasim Syed)