Through two poems, Anuradha Majumdar brings to life, the scenes from streets in the city of Kolkata. In both the poems, the daily tensions in a street are juxtaposed with lightness. The second poem, in particular, describes the daily anger, despair and hilarity that spread through pavements, people, traffic, animals and shops that fill a street.
In three small poems, Vinita Agrawal conjures images of poverty that rules the streets, while also gently touching upon the economic disparity that exists within the society.
A die-hard fan of the fiery red spice, chilli, Arun Anantharaman is forced to slow down and reconsider his cravings for consuming the spice in varied forms. He tells what exactly went wrong and what the sudden turn of events means to him through poetry.
In a poem that evokes nostalgia and brings in fragrances of the past, Vinita Agrawal describes a beautiful experience of how a little girl and her grandmother walk up to a kiln with all the key ingredients to get some tasty biscuits baked from the bakers.
This is the story of a puppet that was brought home by a family as a souvenir of a good holiday. But eventually, it turns out to be something more than a puppet for the narrator. Vinita Agrawal captures the feelings of a woman through poetry.
A woman who has had a difficult and challenging past, chooses to relieve herself of bitterness by opting to forget and forgive, and move on. Jessu John writes a poem inspired from the single ‘Better Days’ by the Goo Goo Dolls. The poem combines fantasy and a few Biblical references including that of the story of ‘Balaam and his Donkey’, to paint the picture of a woman who doesn’t fall too hard for or entirely disbelieve traditional faith.
Of the many facets of a woman, one is that of a possessive lover. Loreto M explores this aspect through a poem that also highlights the ‘woman’s instinct’
She is a woman who is bold, a woman who daringly meets the challenges that life throws at her everyday. She is the woman who serves the food and wine. Satish Pendharkar writes an ode to a waitress.
In a way, this issue is a celebration of Romance through poetry. This is hardly surprising, for, don’t poetry and romance thrive together? We have five poems in this issue that explore the different facets of love. Click here to access these poems.