A cop, a poet and a singer

Radhika D Srivastava / TNN / Jan 26, 2007, 02:32 IST

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Policing and poetry are like chalk and cheese, isn't it?

PATNA: Policing and poetry are like chalk and cheese, isn't it? Yet there are few who chase criminals while in uniform and pen poems while in civvies. And so successful are they that their lyrics turn into famous movie songs.
M K Singh is one among those few. A native of Rohtas district in Bihar, this 1987-batch West Bengal cadre IPS officer is also a poet and a singer.Currently on deputation as regional passport officer for West Bengal, Sikkim and Tripura, Singh also heads the branch secretariat of MEA for eastern and north-eastern states.
The officer admits his profession does not ordinarily inspire poetry. "But it depends on how a policeman views what he sees. I have seen the most tragic of situations which have stirred my depth. Similarly, I have met the most depraved human beings whose extreme inhumanity have amazed me," he says.
With his childhood interest in folk music, poetry and literature, Singh began to see the larger picture. His collection of Hindi poems titled 'Kirchey', meaning bits and pieces, has been inspired by what he has observed in his journey through life. "As SP of some of the most troubled districts and also as the deputy commissioner (traffic) in Kolkata, I have had the best and worst of life. And even if a poem of mine speaks about the good things, there is an underlying larger meaning to it that a discerning reader would be able to perceive," he says.

'Kirchey' will be released in Kolkata on January 28 by Bihar litterateur Arun Kamal.
Singh says while his profession inspired him to turn to poetry, his poetry rescued him from the typical 'policeman pessimism'. Echoing Paul Simon and Art Garfunkle in the song 'I am a rock' where they sang "I have my books and my poetry to protect me...," Singh says, "There are policemen who over the years are stripped of emotions and turn into hardcore cynics. But my poetry and music have shielded me."

Singh's first album 'Aye Babua', which has Bhojpuri songs written and sung by him, won him the 'Kalakar Award' in 2003. Thereafter came another album 'Ruk Ja Sajanwa' which was so well received that Bengali filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh's music director Debjyoti Mishra approached Singh with an offer to sing in Aishwarya Rai-starrer 'Choker Bali'. Singh wrote and sang 'Ram ke bhajanwa' for the film.
More songs for movies and TV serials followed. He has also performed solo in different countries.
Though Singh is a proud police officer today, he says had it not been for his middle-class sensibilities and family pressure to take up a career that is well-established, he would perhaps not have joined the IPS. And despite being a Bihari to the core and in love with Bhojpuri music, Singh says living in Kolkata has helped him tremendously. "I have met hugely talented people here who have helped me finetune my music and poetry," he says.

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