Parasnath
The narrator reflects on a nostalgic train journey back to Jharkhand, evoking memories of a past trip with his father. The journey underscores the passage of time, with the sacred hill Parasnath symbolizing spiritual significance. Amidst daily labor, the narrator feels a profound connection to history and the sacred landscape.
The Lone Scion of Corleone
The poem portrays a struggle between innocence and fate, using imagery of dark, sensitive eyes foreseeing a grim destiny. Despite awareness, there is a strong resolve to rise again, drawing strength from nature. The metaphors emphasize resilience against superficiality, with a connection to mysticism and legacy, invoking themes of defiance and renewal.
Cafe Samovar, Bombay: Small Talks of Large Dreams (a Poem Inspired by Basu Chatterjee’s Film, Chhoti Si Baat)
The poem reflects the ambiance of a café in Basu Chatterjee’s Chhoti Si Baat, blending imagery of an afternoon with experiences of diners and the city. It encapsulates moments of silence, romance, and nostalgia, portraying the complexities of modern life intertwined with memories, like fleeting impressions captured by a camera.
Translations from Gitabitan | #1 | কান্নাহাসির-দোল-দোলানো পৌষ-ফাগুনের পালা | Winter and Spring Swing on Laughter and Sighs
The poem explores the emotional transitions between winter and spring, conveying a longing for peace and resolution amid turmoil. It reflects on the struggle to find solace in music while grappling with the chaos of life. The refrain highlights the destiny of being enveloped in melodies as a means of comfort.
A Fleeting Shelter
The poem reflects on love’s traumas symbolized by an inflamed moon, evoking memories of beauty and tenderness amidst pain. It encourages embracing the neglected and unappreciated, suggesting solace found in the kindness of strangers. The imagery intertwines nature, memory, and human connection, ultimately promoting care and compassion for oneself.
Haiku #1
Daylit kites resignA citrus-moon preens thinRinds of cold starlight
Your Mind’s Alchemy
The essence of the message emphasizes that one’s mental transformation and perception during challenging experiences holds greater significance than the actions of others. It suggests focusing on personal resilience and growth rather than the negative impacts of external events. Ultimately, your mindset shapes the significance of your experiences.
The Price of Immortality
The poem reflects on the nature of value, urging to measure debts in time rather than money. It suggests that dreams clash with the world’s permanence and that mirrors may not always reflect satisfaction. Ultimately, it asserts that suffering is necessary for true wisdom and the pursuit of eternal significance.
A Scholar’s Study
In a timeless space, a solitary figure sketches coastal scenes, reflecting on loneliness and collective memories. He charts historical pains and human struggles, using ink as both penance and salvation. His introspective habit connects him to distant neighbors, offering a glimpse of grace amid life’s tumultuous storms.
The Grammar of a River
The poem reflects a somber atmosphere, exploring themes of stagnation and memory through vivid imagery of the river, boats, and a distant bridge. Elements like the gray sky and ash-like punctuation articulate a sense of longing and silence, where past moments linger, coupled with an underlying quest for meaning amidst decay.
To a Polymath (A Poem for Robert Edwards)
The piece reflects on Sir Robert Edwards’ contributions to in vitro fertilization, celebrating his unique blend of compassion and intellect. It portrays him as a quiet visionary whose efforts nurtured life, emphasizing his ethical principles and legacy, which endure despite lacking widespread recognition. His impact enables others to explore new possibilities.
Still I Soar
You may write me down in historyWith your bitter, twisted lies,You may trod me in the very dirtBut still, like dust, I’ll rise.(‘Still I Rise,’ Maya Angelou) Write me with your counterfeit verdicts,Bury me with falsehoods under the floor,Seal me alive with the broken things,But from the hollow, like wind, I’ll soar. Does my surefooted…
Me, Too
The poem conveys a powerful message of resilience and transformation in the face of deceit. The speaker rejects violence, choosing instead to illuminate truths and reveal hidden betrayals through artful expression. Ultimately, forgiveness becomes the speaker’s form of strength, revealing that silence can speak louder than lies.
Deity of Justice
The poem explores the metallic sculpture ‘The Goddess of Justice’ at the Constitution Museum. It personifies justice through imagery of bronze, chains, and gears, illustrating her strength and complexity. Her scales reflect truth, and her presence embodies both authority and fragility, signaling the intricacies of moral judgment.
Kakul
The poem reflects on the grief experienced after a colleague’s sudden death, contrasting the sorrow of those left behind with the light of the departed. It evokes memories of shared humanity and the longing for connection through imagery of nature and ritual, ultimately celebrating the impact of the lost individual on their lives.
Vietnam Coffee
The poem explores Vietnam’s coffee history through vivid imagery and metaphor, linking it to colonialism and war. It evokes the essence of coffee culture, reflecting on shared experiences, loss, and resilience. The narrative captures both the beauty and bitterness intertwined in Vietnam’s beverage heritage, emphasizing its significance in the country’s identity.
Today I Cannot Write a Poem (or a Sonnet Written in 9 Minutes)
The poet reflects on personal growth and renewal through the process of writing a sonnet. As they soak peas today, they anticipate tomorrow’s potential and the joys that may arise. Despite external judgment, the act of writing serves as a genuine self-exploration, revealing truths that a mirror cannot show.
The Lost Land of Gondwana
The poem intricately describes the geological and cultural history of Gondwana, a land shaped by natural forces and human intervention. It evokes images of ancient landscapes, the intertwining of myths and identities, and the ongoing dialogue between the earth and its inhabitants, highlighting the transformative power of time and memory in shaping civilization.
The Railway Bookseller
The passage depicts a train journey where a bookseller interacts with passengers, reflecting on their diverse attitudes towards books. The scene captures moments of curiosity, indifference, and longing, emphasizing the bookseller’s humble life and the weight of material and emotional burdens he carries, as well as the transient connections formed during travel.
The Immortal Fossil of a Poem
The poem explores the intersection of science, language, and existence, illustrating how words and meanings evolve into biological forms over time. It presents a world where life consists of bacteria outlasting human expression, suggesting that permanence resides in the natural world rather than in written language or contemporary culture.
Smoke Slips into the Window’s Crack
The poem reflects on the remnants of past experiences symbolized by embers in a brazier, evoking themes of memory, loss, and connection to history. It describes the interplay of smoke, scent, and visual imagery to illustrate a deep sense of nostalgia and the persistence of memory as one navigates through time and space.
Ghazal for Bloomsbury (II)
In Bloomsbury, vibrant imagery captures the interplay between nature and urban life, merging memories with present realities. Rain-soaked scenes depict bees, umbrellas, and remnants of the past, evoking reflections on time and identity. Amidst the mundane, a sense of longing emerges, revealing the intertwining of history, emotion, and daily existence.
Monsoon in a Pedagogical Backyard | Notes from an Indian Oxbridge (II)
The bus proclaims the name aloudIn corporate blue—and rain siphons the syllablesBack into earth, as the pavement learns the weightOf professional paces, and the low handrail above a false streamLearns to reply in remorseless radiationsThe precise temperature of administrative excellence. A row of portable boards wheels virtues like trophies,While castor leaves—enormous, impatient, but not yet…
On First Looking into Fox’s Einstein
In a transcendent meeting, the poet encounters an ethereal presence resembling Einstein, discussing profound ideas of gravity and infinity, reminiscent of Tagore and Yeats. Their dialogue evokes the beauty of creation, intertwining mathematics, spirituality, and nature, culminating in a reflection on existence and the interconnectedness of all beings.
Ghazal for Baker Street (I)
The poem captures the essence of Baker Street, intertwining themes of memory and urban life. It portrays a tapestry of sights and sounds, from artists and commuters to ghosts and reflections, illustrating the atmospheric layers of this iconic London location. The imagery evokes a sense of nostalgia and fleeting moments amidst city life.
Ganesha in the Afternoon
The poem depicts an urban landscape where Calcutta’s poverty coexists with resilience. It illustrates a man resting amidst the clutter of life, where spirituality and labor intersect. The city’s essence is captured through its inhabitants, symbolizing deeper truths, suffering, and the persistence of hope in the face of hardship.
Calcutta Cobbled
The poem depicts a cobbler laboring in a sunlit but shadowy shanty, highlighting the interconnectedness of work, life, and community. It emphasizes the importance of mending and repairing, as shoes symbolize resilience and continuity. Historical remnants echo through the cobbler’s craftsmanship, illustrating the profound impact of everyday labor on urban existence.
Ghazal for Bloomsbury (I)
In a reflective narrative set in Bloomsbury, the speaker mourns lost love and history amid evocative imagery of the area. Abandoned bicycles and tangerines symbolize fleeting moments, while church bells and cobblestones evoke nostalgia. The interplay of light and shadow captures unspoken vows, ultimately weaving a poignant connection to Bloomsbury.
Jharkhand’s Monsoon Corridors
The narrative depicts a vibrant, atmospheric journey through a rain-soaked landscape where nature and human experiences intertwine. Trains, fields, and diverse characters come alive amidst echoes of memory and transience. Monsoon rains serve as a backdrop, enriching the scene with beauty and complexity, symbolizing life’s constant ebb and flow.
The Almost Nowherean | Notes from an Indian Oxbridge (I)
The narrative captures a journey from academia to urban life, intertwining themes of aspiration, class, and belonging. An editor turned filmmaker observes the contrasts in society, from laborers to bohemians, amidst the backdrop of commercialization. The imagery reflects the struggles and dreams of individuals navigating their realities in a changing landscape.
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Arup K. Chatterjee 