Voices Within: Nishi Pulugurtha

Nishi Pulugurtha is an academic and writer based in Kolkata. Her publications include a monograph on Derozio (2010), a collection of essays on travel, Out in the Open (2019), an edited volume of essays on travel, Across and Beyond (2020) and a volume of poems, The Real and the Unreal and Other Poems (2020). Her recent book is a collection of short stories, The Window Sill (2021) and a second volume of poems is forthcoming from Writers Workshop, Kolkata.


Noises from the Dark

a whirring that becomes a jarring 
as the varied noises break the silence of the dark
the nose of quietness
a stillness that lingers
to be broken by the sounds
that seem to groan 
machine sounds 
a halt –
a pause –
and then they break through again
a chain, a rhythm
hmm grrn grrr hmm
not like this 
they are different
as they go on
a whirring, perhaps.

And then stillness 
that soothes
a quietness that comforts
to last for a while
till the sounds begin to trouble
the struggles continue. 
***


The red blooms that seem to smile

a branch cut off
from the tree that has now been chopped off
to clear some space
to clean up things
the broken stem still there
rooted – in hope I want to think

that branch, now grown
shades of green
moistened 
with a few small buds

awaiting as they turn big
two flowers
one above and a little to the right
holding on against the concrete

wall behind
the broken plastic bucket
edges jarred
faded colours

and the three cats atop that wall
in the winter sun.
***


Humdrum

the light slowly comes in, 
a little at a time
and what was dark and unseen, 
slowly become clear
the mist still lingers on
for a little while longer

the moaning of the black dog
as the breeze disturbs its quiet sleep
breaks the silence for a while
and then a silence that calms
 as redness shrouds the white peaks

a gentle flutter of the plastic on the hut in the distance
and some smoke that moves upwards
to get lost

Humdrum . . .
***
 

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