Kaleidoscope  (English, Paperback, Uma Mani)

This collection spreads its wings over diverse issues: Emotions, (joy or grief) old age problems (financial insecurities, loneliness and fear of death); relationships, nostalgia, changing society, obsession for electronic products and more. There is no single thread of unity running through these poems. The opening poem “The Young and the Old” may make you think this slim volume deals only with geriatric issues. But then you read about a dog waiting to bite your slippers while you are praying. The poet also talks of a child eating chocolate, cake and a toddler happy to have learnt a new word. There is a tinge of spirituality too (The Sai in ‘OM’, Divine Grace). Loss is felt at the passing away a friend, anguish at a dying relationship and an unexpected turn of events. Women empowerment at the micro level: there’s an illiterate widow who plaits jarimines for a living, and a seventy-five-year old who makes thattais to eke out a living. Let’s learn to re-connect before it is late.