Life as a whole can present challenges to anyone at any point in time, and mostly, the only option a person has is to face them. The marvelous poetry collection “Armories and Arsenals” by Devarya Singhania is about the events in life which will awaken one’s inner warrior to prepare for the battle against the various odds that they can encounter in their lives. It intends to alert and prepare the readers for all that is to follow and also open their eyes to the reality they may have been ignorant of. Altogether, it is a ground-breaking work that influences the readers’ thinking to the extent that they begin to see events and situations through a critical perspective, more or less what the poet’s work embodies.
With a simplistic book cover, the objective of the poetry collection appears to be quite specific and clear. As a title, “Armories and Arsenals” carries both literal and metaphorical associations which remain open to the interpretation of the readers. The poet wants to share the idea that life will never be easier or perfect; one is prone to be judged no matter what they do. He presents the harsh realities of life through his poetry, where he intends to spread the message that people have a tendency to get their work done from others for selfish reasons, and the ones who are a victim of this will have to go through a lot of pain and suffering. All that one can do is to endure it and continue their journey and guard themselves with their Arsenals.
Some of the poems are really intriguing and boggle the minds of the readers. Poems like “Curiosity,” “Mirror mirror on her wall,” “Compare Similarities,” “Lost Solve,” and many more set the writer apart due to his fearlessly realistic approach and brutally honest style of writing. The poem “A request for you to understand” would perhaps be relatable for most of the readers. This poem shows the reality of today’s society that how people comment on one’s appearance and look. The author talks about how trivial things like weight and color have an adverse effect on the personality of a person and their self-confidence. Likewise, most of the poems have simplistic and focused titles, suggesting the author’s attempt to bring the readers closer to his perspective instead of looking at any ornamented language.
A poem that may be quoted in the future of literary writing would be “Communication.” This poem is so deep, and the line “Spare and ear and listen” conveys a message which could become a part of one’s wisdom for life. This poem shows the deeply observant and objective outlook of the poet where he presents truth in the face of it without any constraints. Overall, every poem is unique, different from the other, secluded from worldly touches, and also as objective as it could be. They have deep-rooted meanings which would awaken the inner self of the readers and prompt them to prepare themselves for the untold battles that lie ahead. At the same time, it is interesting to note the different techniques the author uses in writing his poetry. While most poems are in the verse style, some assume the style of prose. Even if the author writes in prose format, he still adheres to his basic manner of writing poetry from an objective and detached perspective. He touches upon a variety of themes and subjects which form the fragment of every day life yet escape the observation of money. In his own way, Singhania’s “Armories and Arsenals” is a poetry collection with a revolutionary approach with the intention of rectifying the wrongs the right way without touching the grounds of morality.
This poetry collection is recommended to all those readers who have an interest in reading poetry that has a flavor of revolution and challenges the existing set system. While, for once, it would make their minds take a plunge into unexplored dimensions of practicality and wisdom, it would also educate them to think objectively and view life not the way they may have been seeing till then. This would result in an improvement in their personalities due to changed thoughts and a stronger sense of objectivity.
