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shelfadmirer's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
I play with words for a living. There's a lot of reading and writing involved, expression being the key. I write poems occasionally, inspired by moments and verses that resonate with me, the intensity directly proportional to my mood. In all these years, I have explored poetry cautiously, for in me, there is a lack of appreciation for poetry. Metaphors and imagery in short phrases aren't my cup of tea. And so, it would only be fair to say that I haven't grasped 'Whorls Within' fully. But even then, this is a collection I will preserve and revisit because Nandini Sen Mehra is flawless with her observations, seamless with her approach and cautious yet carefree with her words.
Divided into 3 sections namely Heart, Mind and Spirit, this collection of poems will resonate with minds throughout the world. Mehra's observations and her knack for weaving emotions and events into a carefully threaded and intricate poetry makes this an evocative read. The verses aren't verbose (well, except a few) but holds the vehemence of her thoughts.
"πΈπ'π πππππππππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππ π πππ πππππ ππππππππππ.
π΅ππ πππππππ ππ ππππ π’πππ ππππ ππ π’ππ πππ ππππππ ππππππππ π πππππ π ππππ,
πππ ππππ ππππππ ππ,
ππ ππ ππππ ππ πππππ πππ ππ‘πππ πππππ ππ π’πππ ππππππππππ’."
The collection is an exploration of everything that makes up life- live, loss, grief, abuse and memories. There are reflections about the survival of the species, the plight of an environment under attack and the struggle to evolve and occupy space without being sorry. 'Whorls Within' is a good place to start with modern contemporary poetry, it creates a safe space with its easy narration and relatable moments. The foreword by Gulzaar announcing her as a promising new voice, one that will reverberate with people across all age groups, shows what a stunner this collection is.
_askthebookbug's review
4.0
β’ r e v i e w β’
.
You play hide and seek with her your whole life,
but life, is death's playground.
It doesn't matter where you hide,
or how still you can stand without really breathing,
she knows your best places,
she will find you and she will win.
Though she might let you think you are,
safe.
In a far away place, in your mother's arms,
in a normal day,
with plans.
And you live, again you love, again.
Nandini Sen Mehra's debut book, Whorls Within can be deemed as an instant hit. Gulzar sahab in the foreword tells us what to expect as he goes on to quote few lines from her book. Through a hundred poems with no set theme, Nandini leaves the readers with a a whirlwind of emotions gathering momentum within the walls of their chests. She cleverly lures us in via the very first poem, something that has remained my favourite since the day I first read it. There's a sense of beauty attached to her words and as one reads the lines, it feels like staring at a pearl necklace, each bead as beautiful as the previous one.
She explores a myriad of topics be it about lovers and their fights, death, war, abuse, desire and her memories from a certain place. These poems are divided into three sections: Heart, Mind and Spirit, the first two being my favourite. Out of them all, The Men imprinted itself on my mind for the pain it carried. It doesn't take long for one to become abundantly clear that Nandini has a way with words, to pull the readers into a warm embrace sometimes to console us or to simply tell us about how the world works. For someone who doesn't enjoy poetry much, Whorls Within opens a comfortable space to enter and explore this genre. I have no complaints but I do have to admit that few poems didn't make much of an impact on me. There were my favourites, yes but there were also few that strayed from my head the minute I flipped the page. However, I do have to thank Nandini for successfully making me enjoy poetry, a task that seemed impossible until now. I recommend this to the ones who are ardent lovers of this genre and also to those who are looking for a perfect book to kickstart their journey with poetry.
Rating : 4.1/5.
.
You play hide and seek with her your whole life,
but life, is death's playground.
It doesn't matter where you hide,
or how still you can stand without really breathing,
she knows your best places,
she will find you and she will win.
Though she might let you think you are,
safe.
In a far away place, in your mother's arms,
in a normal day,
with plans.
And you live, again you love, again.
Nandini Sen Mehra's debut book, Whorls Within can be deemed as an instant hit. Gulzar sahab in the foreword tells us what to expect as he goes on to quote few lines from her book. Through a hundred poems with no set theme, Nandini leaves the readers with a a whirlwind of emotions gathering momentum within the walls of their chests. She cleverly lures us in via the very first poem, something that has remained my favourite since the day I first read it. There's a sense of beauty attached to her words and as one reads the lines, it feels like staring at a pearl necklace, each bead as beautiful as the previous one.
She explores a myriad of topics be it about lovers and their fights, death, war, abuse, desire and her memories from a certain place. These poems are divided into three sections: Heart, Mind and Spirit, the first two being my favourite. Out of them all, The Men imprinted itself on my mind for the pain it carried. It doesn't take long for one to become abundantly clear that Nandini has a way with words, to pull the readers into a warm embrace sometimes to console us or to simply tell us about how the world works. For someone who doesn't enjoy poetry much, Whorls Within opens a comfortable space to enter and explore this genre. I have no complaints but I do have to admit that few poems didn't make much of an impact on me. There were my favourites, yes but there were also few that strayed from my head the minute I flipped the page. However, I do have to thank Nandini for successfully making me enjoy poetry, a task that seemed impossible until now. I recommend this to the ones who are ardent lovers of this genre and also to those who are looking for a perfect book to kickstart their journey with poetry.
Rating : 4.1/5.
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