The Broken Image

In January 2004, I attented the first literary seminar of my life - the Katha Seminar. By far, it has been one of my most memorable trips to Delhi - the literary talks, the many movies at the film fest, the Delhi winters...I enjoyed every minute of it! The seminar opened a whole new world for me and I realized that there is life beyond classroom lectures. Not that I didn't know about it earlier, just that it hit me the strongest during this seminar and compelled me to take a step ahead. It was precisely at this point that I decided that I would pursue my Masters in Media Studies.

I attented several workshops at the seminar and one of it was a workshop on poetry writing conducted by George Szirtes - a renowned poet from Europe, who has also extensively worked in the field of translation (http://www.georgeszirtes.co.uk/). During the workshop he asked us to think of an object, personify it and use it as the subject of our poem. After 15 minutes I had in hand the first poem I'd ever written. This one holds a special place for me. Let's see if you can guess what is the object that is personified here :)

THE BROKEN IMAGE

But once I was
Loaded with images
like books stacked
shelf after shelf,
I could see everything-
yes, everything
But myself…

The hidden tear
The child's fear
The first grey hair
Following an unknown path
Leading nowhere

But now,
A thin line cuts deep through me
Like a once bountiful
but now dried up sea

And I can still see it all..
The hidden tear
The child's fear
Alas! I'm hacked in two
They don’t come near...