It is all in the mind

I finished reading Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook (1994) a few days back. The book now rests on my desk, with many of its pages dog-eared and multiple lines of text underlined in different colours. (When I want to mark a portion of text that has had a significant impact on me, I grab the...

‘Hymn to Evil’ gives hope

Poetry heals me. It does so by letting me dissect my state of being through shiny, sharp word scalpels: Cutting open a wound in this case can be just as curative as sealing it. Recent events, not to mention the hell of a ride we all are on, made me want to read a poem...

On why poetry could save me

There are moments in life, rare ones, when you feel intimately connected with the inanimate. You cannot believe that something that can't move -- as still as that pen that refuses to write your words for you -- has moved you. I had one of these moments last night. I didn't go looking for it...

A Request for The Three Knots

According to Hindu wedding rituals, the act of marriage, akin to the exchange of rings, is sealed with the tying of the Mangalsutra, which in Sanskrit means 'Sacred Thread' ('Mangala' - sacred; 'Sutra' - thread). It is also known as Thaali or Mangalyam. It consists of a gold pendant with chains on either side, which...