Wednesday, January 14, 2015.
‘Dilip Mohapatra’s poetry exudes a subtle elegance- a warm tapestry, light as a butterfly’s wing. With seeming effortlessness, he captures those profound, beautiful and sometimes humorous contradictions, which reveal the essence of inner life, in his lines.’ (Rebecca Bynum)
Dilip Mohapatra’s launched his new poetry book – ‘Different Shades’ at Gyaan Adab on Wednesday, January 14, 2015.
A decorated Navy veteran, Mr. Mohapatra has been writing contemporary poems in English since 1971 and quite a few of his recent poems have appeared in literary journals worldwide, like the World Poetry Yearbook 2013, New English Review, The Helix Magazine, The Muse India, The Contemporary Literary Review of India, Statesman, etc. His first poetry collection titled ‘A pinch of Sun & Other Poems’, also published by Author Press India was listed as a bestseller in the poetry category on Amazon India for some time.
Following is an excerpt from the book:
Mumbai Streets
The glisten and glitter
of receding tail lamps in waves
the siren of the ambulance
dopplering into a splinter
in the silence zone
on the resilient streets
defiled by the reclusive rubbish
heaped in the corners
the sidewalks with an occasional
missing manhole cover
and the skeletons of the
rusted scaffolds of billboards
melancholically perched
on the brown and severe
brick and mortar
ravaged by a savage storm
the neon signs flickering on
celebrity faces hanging in shreds
hold you prisoner
your indiscernible being
merged with many other beings
you stop at the red traffic light
waiting for it to turn green
and the street urchins
tap on your window.
Director of Gyaan Adab Centre, Randhir Khare released the book ‘Different Shades’ and shared his reflections about the book. Mr. Mohapatra took the stage to read some of his poems from the book. His poems touched upon various aspects of his life and showcased a myriad of moods and shades. Mr. Khare then had an enlightening discussion with the author about his work, his inspirations and the poetic process. The audience was also a part of this discussion with interesting questions and appreciation for the poet.
