Description

Each hymn, each poem, each line in this collection, is a little droplet filled with beauty. — Karan Madhok, founder, The Chakkar

In Hymns for Longing, expressions of love, longing, awakening or lust take on the quality of hymns, reflecting an ardour that is liminal in its intensity. Agnibarathi’s voice reflects the poetic rhythm of ancient folklore, epic tales and myths that stir a reader’s own memory through their repetitive resonance. There is knowledge that churning could bring ‘nectar, nectar, nectar’ but also ‘spill’ as a real possibility. The verses turn deviant, making epic heroes ordinary, deserted lovers free. Even Siva sheds his pose, falls asleep under the crescent moon, ‘the ignorant darkness between us’. Raised on sacred texts from childhood, Agnibarathi uses these to parody the profound. Yet there is both intimacy and yearning in these verses. ‘I wanted to make divinity part of my landscape’, he writes. ‘Like the flame lily that wraps itself around the jasmine in my backyard, where compost, worms and plastic also live’ — a duality that offers fertile soil for a joyously vivid read. — Neera Kashyap, author of The Art of Unboxing

Agnibarathi is a poet and a novelist based in Bangalore. He is the author of How to Love in Tamil, a Sangam-Tamil adaptation scheduled for publication in 2027. His works have appeared in leading journals and publications, including The Hindu, Usawa Literary Journal, The Hemlock Journal, Muse India, The Chakkar, Ethos Literary Journal, and The Madras Courier. Winner of the Singing Oneness contest conducted by Jindal India Institute. He reviews books at Muse India and Atta Galatta and sunlights as the head of the India division of a software MNC.