The voice inside
I am not a poet, yet the inspiration to write the poems in this book came to me in spurts during various moments of chance encounters. As I think about the past eight months over which these poems were written, I realize that these poems are an outcome of the times we all live in. The musings in my book were already simmering in me for a long time. A chance encounter with an “Untucked Feather” helped me realize that a poem inside me was waiting to be discovered. Once I let it out, a flood of poetry just kept gushing out, sometimes in the middle of the night. A window for a home without walls reflects the times we live in. Several readers of this book have told me that reading these poems is helping them heal and rediscover hope amidst the distress and disruption caused by the pandemic.
Today we feel trapped within the four walls of our homes. We are eagerly waiting for freedom. Confinement is making us anxious about our path ahead and forcing us to seek greater clarity about what is important and meaningful.
The Pandemic has given us the time to think about the growing imbalance in our life. The lockdown period feels more painful because we now realize the choices we have made in the past were not our only options and they may not be relevant or sustainable anymore. As much as we are eager to get back to our jobs, we have also developed doubts about whether those jobs give us a sense of purpose anymore. We wonder if in pursuing happiness and prosperity, we lost something more precious. In serving our desires, did we stop caring for ourselves, our families, and for others? Did we become so self-obsessed that we stopped being mindful of how much we were hurting the ecology and life on earth?
Indeed it is the right time to ponder. we can be better prepared for the future if we use this time to take a meditative approach to awaken our soul, discover our path, and design our journey.
I quote Prasad Boradkar,
“When you read these poems, you will be invited to look within and look beyond… you will be gently urged to consider where you have been and where you would like to go. Emerging in and from these troubling times are these gentle pages of ruminations, imaginations, humanity, and most importantly, hope.
You will never be done reading this book. Images Uday has painted through his words will stay with you forever… one day you might find yourself looking at a tiny feather floating by and it will make you think of the endless universe.
Find yourself a comfortable spot in your home, curl up with this book, and let Uday take your mind and your heart into the deepest recesses of your being as well as the farthest edges of unknown worlds.”
Please read this book to someone you love. Share the book with someone who is feeling trapped, not in the four walls of the house but, in fear of change. Gift it to someone who is afraid of listening to the voices of their conscience. Encourage your children to read the poems and turn them into something beautiful- a book, a poster, a song, or a dance. My hope is that these reflections will help cultivate curiosity, compassion, and creativity. When you read them they will feel like the voice inside you.
