The role of Seasons in Indian Haiku By Ramesh Anand Author of Newborn Smiles http://ramesh-inflame.blogspot.

com

Haiku is always written with a seasonal reference in order to reveal the deep relationship between the seasons and the emotions and behaviors of human, animals, birds, plants. Here, I am bringing out the few seasonal words [kigo] from my collection to mean the four seasons. Creating an apt seasonal reference, which is completely fresh by itself, is the biggest challenge in getting the observed event artistic and surprising in a haiku. It makes the haiku more revealing and resonant. A new haiku poet generally adopts the existing setting of kigo shared by experienced writers. This existing set would only suit for writers who reside in a country from where the existing kigo set originated. So there is a challenge here for every haiku poet to find a kigo for their own country which has very unique seasonal references hidden to get revealed. Over experience, there will be an inner urge to find the deep meaning of the observed event in a season and that is when exceptional kigo will start to fall in place in a poets haiku. Kigo as seasonal reference also helps to give a clear cut idea of the event and prevents the event being falling into a gray area especially when a seasonal transition takes place. Seasonal Words Spring new years wishes, rangoli Patterns, remaining snow, waters of spring, sound of fountain, Lingering heat, spring drizzle, rainwater harvest, train pane mist, paddy Field, calmness, the smell of boiling rice new years wishes sprouts between the concrete slabs new year's eve rangoli patterns in the street Summer rainbow season, sun bath, cutoff kite, double rainbow, summer dream, burning sunshine, midday rain, kiting day, cloud peaks, tonguing an ice-cream, holidays end, beach sunset, humid beach, path of cowries. summer dream counting the butterflies in neighbors garden

double rainbow, the sun rising on its mirror Autumn patches of twilight, monsoons end, evening moon, day moon, breath of illness, autumn dusk, stillness of the goldfish, a native voice, tombstones shadow, white hair, maple leaves, autumn loneliness, wrinkles, autumn drizzle, autumn dawn, ice box, last word autumn sky patches of twilight in the falling leaf autumn haze a breath of illness in my speech Winter winter crossroad, winters stillness, winter rain, winter mist, winter clouds, winters loneliness, lungi shivering, short day, winter twilight. First talk, first dawn, first meeting, first snow, first drizzle. holding on with what she left behind winter moon full moon winters stillness in a soap bubble