Angshuman Kar

As we dedicate the third edition of Poetry India to Surjit Patar whom we lost a few months ago, we remember this poem of his. A poem like this could only be written by a Surjit Patar who never compromised with his sword that looked like a pen, who proved that political poetry could be gracefully lyrical

On 8 April 2023, Noon: New and Selected Poems, the latest book of poems by Jayanta Mahapatra was published in Bhubaneswar. Jayanta Mahapatra, a legend of our times, is enviously active even at 95. In the book-release function, he spoke at length about the love he has been receiving from his friends and readers over a long period of time, a love that has kept him alive as a poet.

I have seen these lines being used in love letters. I know how dear these lines are to the young lovers, in particular. But whenever I read these lines, I feel that I hear the voice of poetry. Poetry, as if, whispers in the ears of a poet, words which are intimate, seductive and smell of the aroma of new birth.