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Expressions, Unlocking Tales of a Lifetime
"Expressions" is a compilation of poems that cover a wide range of themes - from the current pandemic, lockdown, to nature, yoga, satire, love, women, and sorts. The poetry is a reflection of a lifetime of experiences; with a depth that would make a reader pause and think.
The blurb of the book sums it up :
"Words, voices, echoes-
They wait to be heard;
Stirring in their soulful depths -
Seething in rebellion, pain, change;
Surrendering to the nature of love and letting go-
In one journey of a life;
These verses - wandering, seeking, answering,
Through trails countless,
In chaos and in calm;
The tearing apart, the piecing together,
The laughter that rings with tears,
Reconciling, healing, evolving- a melody that swirls
To tell a story of you, of me-
Of our paths that have met once or will,
Through my poetry!"
The blurb of the book sums it up :
"Words, voices, echoes-
They wait to be heard;
Stirring in their soulful depths -
Seething in rebellion, pain, change;
Surrendering to the nature of love and letting go-
In one journey of a life;
These verses - wandering, seeking, answering,
Through trails countless,
In chaos and in calm;
The tearing apart, the piecing together,
The laughter that rings with tears,
Reconciling, healing, evolving- a melody that swirls
To tell a story of you, of me-
Of our paths that have met once or will,
Through my poetry!"
181 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 18, 2021
Poetry is tough to review as it is a genre that is highly subjective. Uma Sarangan’s poetry collection, however, has a universal appeal. Neatly divided into different segments, the book starts off with the highly topical ‘Lockdown diaries’.
Nearly anyone the world over can relate to
"Entrapping is this isolation
These are pandemic times;
That shuts you indoors."
Or to these lines
"It is during a lockdown your needs boil down to bare necessities"
"Mundane and monotonous, the cycle of chores –
Giving chipped nails and calluses – as sore"
Like most poetry, Uma’s poems are deeply personal and her verses describing her deep relationship with Yoga are visceral and moving.
"Deep rooted in the shade of an Aswatha
A wandering soul finds a seed
What binds with the earthen therefrom
Becomes the quest of a yogi."
Uma handles the holy trifecta for poets – love, lust and loneliness – very well.
Her ‘grey shades of love’, a poem in three parts, leaves you with many thoughts. Tackling the complex thoughts of three individuals – wife, husband and mistress, the poem tackles the perspective of each of them.
While the wife laments,
"How could then the vileness of the other woman hold you long?"
The husband declares
"As dawn breaks, the light of my eyes goes homing back
To the one, I am pledged to"
The other woman is not cast aside with judgement and she is given a voice as well
"To be called your paramour or mistress
Hushed beneath the coverlets of the night"
Many of Uma’s nature poems are delightful and express a childlike joy.
"I set sail my paper boat
In those little streams
I feel intoxicated yet alive"
But the poetess seems to be at her best tackling themes entrenched in the quirky Indian milieu.
She makes you laugh pondering on the etiquette of drinking runny rasam, and rightly points out how
"Indian pedestrian needs to be nimble toed to hop skip and jump on Indian roads"
She has acerbic yet highly valid thoughts on ‘The Great Indian Marriage’
"Just the two in a marital space,
yet the extended family feel bound to operate in full swing in the foreground"
or even on how patriarchy is perpetrated on the basis of the recessive Y in the XY chromosome!
"The patronized XY, the male factor –
The blueprint of a legacy; the forerunner
The fittest survivor; the dominant
The opposite sex cowers down, as a remnant?"
If you are looking for poetry that makes you smile and also makes you think, go for Expressions: Unlocking Tales of a Lifetime
Nearly anyone the world over can relate to
"Entrapping is this isolation
These are pandemic times;
That shuts you indoors."
Or to these lines
"It is during a lockdown your needs boil down to bare necessities"
"Mundane and monotonous, the cycle of chores –
Giving chipped nails and calluses – as sore"
Like most poetry, Uma’s poems are deeply personal and her verses describing her deep relationship with Yoga are visceral and moving.
"Deep rooted in the shade of an Aswatha
A wandering soul finds a seed
What binds with the earthen therefrom
Becomes the quest of a yogi."
Uma handles the holy trifecta for poets – love, lust and loneliness – very well.
Her ‘grey shades of love’, a poem in three parts, leaves you with many thoughts. Tackling the complex thoughts of three individuals – wife, husband and mistress, the poem tackles the perspective of each of them.
While the wife laments,
"How could then the vileness of the other woman hold you long?"
The husband declares
"As dawn breaks, the light of my eyes goes homing back
To the one, I am pledged to"
The other woman is not cast aside with judgement and she is given a voice as well
"To be called your paramour or mistress
Hushed beneath the coverlets of the night"
Many of Uma’s nature poems are delightful and express a childlike joy.
"I set sail my paper boat
In those little streams
I feel intoxicated yet alive"
But the poetess seems to be at her best tackling themes entrenched in the quirky Indian milieu.
She makes you laugh pondering on the etiquette of drinking runny rasam, and rightly points out how
"Indian pedestrian needs to be nimble toed to hop skip and jump on Indian roads"
She has acerbic yet highly valid thoughts on ‘The Great Indian Marriage’
"Just the two in a marital space,
yet the extended family feel bound to operate in full swing in the foreground"
or even on how patriarchy is perpetrated on the basis of the recessive Y in the XY chromosome!
"The patronized XY, the male factor –
The blueprint of a legacy; the forerunner
The fittest survivor; the dominant
The opposite sex cowers down, as a remnant?"
If you are looking for poetry that makes you smile and also makes you think, go for Expressions: Unlocking Tales of a Lifetime
December 22, 2020
❤ The year 2020 got us infinite number of troubles, be it Corona, lockdown, dispute with neighbours countries, loss of large number lives, studies disruption, unemployment and what not. Most of us looked on the darker side because that’s what our nature is, but if we look closely, we also got many things to cherish like quality (quantity too) time with family, freedom of doing anything and everything at anytime, unprocessed food, nature time and lot more that has been awesomely presented by the poet in this book.
❤ This book of 175 pages is a collection of poems on large number of topics and issues. The collection has been divided into 9 heads viz Lockdown Diaries; Pain, Healing and Transformation- Journey Through Yoga; Wanderlust – Unbound Traveller; Women- The Fearless and Free Spirit; Beyond The Urbane Walls; Unfurling With Nature, Satire; Love Beyond Bounds; and Random Ramblings.
❤ All these heads has numerous number of poems showcasing different aspects like Lockdown diaries tell us about the world during lockdown, how it has impacted us but showed the real meaning of life, nature’s healing, home-cooked food and other beautiful stuff. Yoga section has a beautiful poetic manifestation of Vrukshasana which I loved the most from rest of the poems in this section. Satire is my another favourite section which has fun poems on food, S-E-X and much more.
❤ I loved most of the poems, their explanation and meaning that I could make out of them. I really loved the freshness of these poems as they were not like I read earlier. These are no doubt full of emotions but with a practical approach which I loved the most. So the efforts done by the author are worth applauding in finding these new and untouched topics. I would highly recommend this book to every kind of reader. I rate it 4.5/5.
❤ This book of 175 pages is a collection of poems on large number of topics and issues. The collection has been divided into 9 heads viz Lockdown Diaries; Pain, Healing and Transformation- Journey Through Yoga; Wanderlust – Unbound Traveller; Women- The Fearless and Free Spirit; Beyond The Urbane Walls; Unfurling With Nature, Satire; Love Beyond Bounds; and Random Ramblings.
❤ All these heads has numerous number of poems showcasing different aspects like Lockdown diaries tell us about the world during lockdown, how it has impacted us but showed the real meaning of life, nature’s healing, home-cooked food and other beautiful stuff. Yoga section has a beautiful poetic manifestation of Vrukshasana which I loved the most from rest of the poems in this section. Satire is my another favourite section which has fun poems on food, S-E-X and much more.
❤ I loved most of the poems, their explanation and meaning that I could make out of them. I really loved the freshness of these poems as they were not like I read earlier. These are no doubt full of emotions but with a practical approach which I loved the most. So the efforts done by the author are worth applauding in finding these new and untouched topics. I would highly recommend this book to every kind of reader. I rate it 4.5/5.
October 30, 2020
Curiosity, turning the everyday mundane of things of life into something extraordinary imaginative and offering a completely different perspective on them, is the running theme of this book of.poetries. I was enamoured by some of them and was chuckling at some others. There are sections how to face and overcome adversity pain and suffering, a motivating read for everybody and also on the societal pressures and trying to find out identity in them. There are poems which are great as a quick snack and some which can be pondered upon endlessly. A poetry book for all types of poetry lovers, from aesthetesto novices, this book is great in the current lockdown times (and beyond). A must buy , must read and must keep. Highly recommended!!!
October 29, 2020
This book of poetry resonates with the feelings of every being.... From some of the absolute realities of 'lockdown diaries' and 'beyond the urbane walls' section to the imaginative expressions of the poems under the 'Satire category', each poem captivates you..... It's unbelievable how you have managed to show the gradation of your thoughts in each poem, be it in the description of the beauty of nature, or the intense passion in 'the one night affair'.... It's flawless and mind blowing.... I highly recommend this book to anyone...
October 25, 2020
Amazing read. I really enjoyed the flow and how the poems are categorised. The themes right from lockdown to satire is engaging read. Love runny rasam poem a lot..
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews