My debut book is out!

'Gulf', my poetry chapbook has been published by Yavanika Press!

What does poetry mean to you?

Poetry is a portal through which I can travel to those worlds where different versions of myself reside. That can only happen through poetry for me. I write a lot of fiction too but poetry will always be special.

I used to write rhyming poetry (doggerel) in school like most of us do. I only started pursuing it seriously after school. Reading different kinds of poetry opened my eyes to the various possibilities of expressing myself. I love reading contemporary Indian poets.

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Do you read poetry or do you want to start reading poetry?

Then please begin with my chapbook!

Cover Art: Saloni Dhawan

Multiple poems in this book were longlisted for the TOTO prize for creative writing 2021. Each poem in this chapbook addresses the word ‘Gulf’ in its own way as the poet endeavours to make sense of her place in a world fraught with the universal feelings of being lost, rejected, and alienated.

Back Cover

You can buy it here

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In the month of August, a lot of poets are reading a lot of poetry. Why? Well…

The Sealey Challenge, started by poet Nicole Sealey, is a reading challenge where you read an entire book of poetry every day during the month of August. 31 days, 31 books.

If this is something that interests you, let my chapbook be one of these books! You can definitely finish it in a day. It has 15 of my strongest poems. Some aren’t aware of the term ‘chapbook’. What is it?

A chapbook is a small book! It has a limited number of poems (10–30 poems) that have a unifying theme or experience.

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This is one of my favourite chapbooks. Let me know about your favourites!

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A little about my experience publishing the chapbook:

Poetry is very difficult to place, especially in India. It’s tough to sell poetry, that’s the harsh truth. I have faced lots of struggles in my journey. I am grateful to my editors at Yavanika Press for accepting my work and providing such wonderful insights! It has been a pleasure working with them. My book couldn’t have found a better home. They understood my poetic vision like no other!

I would highly recommend checking out their previous titles, I’m currently reading their title ‘Walk’ by Mustansir Dalvi and really enjoying it.

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I’m leaving with you with a few lines from one of my poems in the chapbook-

I‘m leaving Bahrain

with languages under my tongue

like pills. I‘m asked to open my mouth…

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If any of you are interested in reviewing or featuring my book in anyway, please reach out to yavanikapress@gmail.com with the subject ‘Review-Gulf’. Thank you!