Nostalgia crafting a home within

 

Book title – Nostalgia crafting a home within

Publisher – red river  Pages –  126 pages   Language – English

Genre – poetry

Authors –   Mahua Sen

Available on – amazon.in

Purchase link – https://www.amazon.in/Nostalgia-Crafting-Home-Within-Mahua/dp/9392494521/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1N60W3P4ECZFX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0cOfZ8nd3wrD49UKETkCtceUUKa9DSEwNuDFZ_oyL9hJdK_hQnNyJHitomC2qop6udlFZClBCKi7g6kL53vOq9Z7UgEasL0C_-dowruZOv65iY1oKaGYIo7Rd-PlrRHK.x4Y_SqlbW8Hseq25SgJQpxMZqO3Tk-IfXaJWpOIoU5c&dib_tag=se&keywords=mahua+sen&qid=1708571582&sprefix=mahua+sen%2Caps%2C257&sr=8-1

**************************************************

About the author –  MAHUA SEN is an author, poet, editor, and translator, based out of Hyderabad. She is the recipient of the Reuel International Poetry Award, the Poesis Award for Excellence in Literature, 40 under 40 by Business Mint, to name a few. She has been widely published both nationally and internationally. Her poetry and writings have been featured in anthologies, newspapers, and magazines, including Outlook, Saranga magazine, The Beacon, Teesta Review, Spillwords, Kashmir Newsline, Hello Kolkata, Republic of Turkey Sungurlu Newspaper, Setu, etc.

About the book – I received a signed copy of this book from the author for review.

Seldom has a book captivated me as much as Mahua Sen’s second volume of poetry – Nostalgia crafting a home within.  Perhaps that is why I have taken so long to review it. Every time I started to write the review, I flipped through the pages and again I found myself sinking into Mahua’s verses that are such a true representation of life.

This book, an outpouring of mahua’s emotions, deep and poignant as they are, is a journey into all of her yesterdays. The book is a cathartic embarkment that brings to the fore repressed memories, fond remembrances, bitter-sweet reminisces, the fragrance of relationships held dear and a multitude of other emotions. As I read through the verses, on more than one occasion, I found myself traveling to my own past. I re-lived things that I had once felt an emotional connection to but which the mist of time had faded to a dull memory. Simmering on the backburner of my memory, they would have remained veiled had not I read Mahua’s verses. So, in a way, this book has re-connected me to my yesterdays. Thank you, Mahua, for that!!

Additionally, I would like to mention here that I genuinely enjoyed the black-and-white photographs that the book has. Those glimpses into Mahua’s life coupled with her nostalgic verses creates a magical reading experience. Mahua’s lyrical, prosaic-style poetry which at time rhymes, paints a vivid montage. Dr Santosh Bakaya’s afterword is the cheery on the cake.

There are a few verses that I would like to quote here because they touched me so deeply.

1. Grandmother, page 15 – //In the labyrinth of days where simple joys were our dearest cheers, her lap, a sanctuary from life’s tempestuous climb, basking I the warm hues of nostalgia’s tender tears, chasing memories like the cherished verses of a timeless rhyme//
2. Flavours, page 28 – //Moments aren’t mere stacks of seconds, not mere chronicles of time’s accord. They are a symphony of flavours …//
3. Grandfather’s chair, page 35 – //My grandfather’s aged chair, a bending relic in my memory, a fragile strand of time …//
4. My hometown Forbesganj, page 37 – //I ache for the taste of crisp, untamed air and the liberation it brings in the humble sanctity of my hometown…//
5. Banaras, page 71 – //The ochre sun descends upon the breast of Ganga, a celestial spectacle…//
6. Revisiting my home town streets, page 109 – //The skeletal road whispers secrets of days bygone, decades of tranquil moments it recalls…//

I could go on and on, quoting more of my favourite verses from the book for this book is Mahua’s never-ending quest to find home, once again, in her memories, in her past, in the things she held dear. This book is a must read for all poetry lovers.