Notes in the margin

by Arindam Mallick

Margins define people, often dictating what is thought of but not mentioned and mulled over but not spoken aloud. They reign supreme over the land of words gone astray, feelings that swim to the front of the consciousness but do not find expression through the fingers. But once margins are breached, it almost doesn’t matter how deep into our true selves we go. Because then, and only then, can we truly put the madness down on paper and immortalise it in the captivating world of the written word. 'Notes in the margin' is an exploration of outlying thoughts and fleeting emotions, dwelt on over time and woven into kaleidoscopic verse. Verse that ranges from rain to schoolteachers, from abortions to ice creams and from serial killers to eternity.

52 pages, Paperback

Published February 14, 2018

About the author

An Economics graduate and B-School Post-Graduate, Arindam fell in love with poetry the day he first read Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken'. Since then he has developed an acute infatuation with the written word, which has led him to read quite a bit from Rūmī to Neruda, Hosseini to Orwell and Poindexter to G.R.R. Martin. Writing has been part of him for as long as he can remember and, while he co-authored his first book 'Prelude to the Horizon' with close friend and fellow Presidency College alumni Monami Ghosh, his second book 'Notes in the margin' is a solo effort. Currently based out of Mumbai, he works at an advertising agency and sometimes tries his hand at photography.

Reviews

[Omkar Pathak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me too long to begin reading. But that’s probably because of having read it previously while writing the foreword. But I’m glad, had I read it soon, it would’ve probably been too fresh in my mind for it to be amazed once again.

The overall wingspan of the book is quite wide and I love that about the book. A book of poetry written on a single topic can get monotonous at times. That’s not the case here. The range of subjects touched by Arindam keeps the reader fresh throughout.

Having said that, there are particular poems that I would like to give specific mentions to for how much they spoke to me. Starting with ‘Conversation with a canvas’. This one kept me intrigued right from the start. The premise itself caught me and kept me held all through it. Another one is ‘Flame’, the tale of a moth and its path to self-destruction at the hands of desire. Written so sharply and ever so sweetly, it leaves you with a sting. And the one right after… ‘Deshdrohi’, is probably my favourite. I remember going back with the book after reading it and talking about this one before all others. This poem doesn’t leave your thoughts for many days after having read it. Then there is ‘Rain washed regularity’, a love-letter to Bombay. And yes, “Bombay” not “Mumbai”. It so easily captures the romanticism of this city that I so love. I could go on about a lot more, but I would like to conclude by mentioning the most nostalgia-inducing poem of them all… ‘Present, Sir!’. While reading this, just about anyone would be taken back in time to a place that now seems far far away.

With this book and the range of emotions it encaptures, I can honestly say that this is one of the few poetry books that I’ve loved reading cover-to-cover.

[Shaunak Bhattacharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have known this person for the last 12 years or so, and I am more acquainted with Arindam's writing than many people out there. Personally, a majority of this collection has been read by me even before he thought of publishing his first book. Despite this fact, even revisiting the poems gave me the same sense of satisfaction that it gave me the first time I read them.
Some of them , to start with "So Long . For Now" is extremely heartbreaking and applicable to my condition over the years, which is why I could relate to that very intimately. "Deshdrohi" is a stunning example of writing poetry in an extremely delicate manner , so that it appears to be another sublime act of "Storytelling in Poetry" without hurting anyone's sentiments. I wish I could write about all the 20 poems in this in details, but I dont have that vast vocabulary of words , and I think I will end up duplicating them .
I would, however, love to thank Arindam for perhaps the greatest gift of my teaching career, in the form of "Present, Sir" which was dedicated to me. Never, ever have I thought that someone not belonging to this teaching world, will frame something so honestly and wonderfully as to portray the life of a teacher, which will give me goosebumps whenever I will read it. This was indeed the best gift anyone can ask for, and I love him for this.
However, I would love to give him a suggestion, to arrange the writings in order, including the date and time and place in which they were written , so that the reader can have an idea of the changes which Arindam has gone as a writer, the developments he has made in his writing, and the impacts which a particular place or the people of the place may have left on him. This will perhaps help the reader to know the person much better.
Finally, as a conclusion, it is definitely worth a mention, that I would LOVE to see more books come out from the Santa Bag of yours, because, despite the fact, that you have hugely minimised writing now, maybe owing to the work pressure or any other personal problems, I of all people BELIEVE, that you have plenty of more magic left in your pen. So, just an advice, DO NOT let the world or the puny people, rob you of the best gift that you have, the gift of WORDS. Believe in yourself, and believe in the famous song by BoyZone, "It's only Words, and Words are all I have, to take your heart away". Keep writing , Arindam. Keep feeding the world, slowly becoming technologically advanced but emotionally less stable, with your gift of Poetry. I will wait for them.