Description

I hear them again in the middle of/ a slow, low pressure rain.// Plain words move through/ the casuarina forest// bordering the indignant waves./ These nights, they push// themselves into/ the small seaside town./ They arrive in our dreams,/ longing to touch us where it hurts.// The sea changes its colour,/ becomes a dull gray.

BIBHU PADHI was born and brought up in the medieval town of Cuttack on the Indian east-coast, where he studied and later, taught at Ravenshaw College, now Ravenshaw University. He presently lives in the 2,500-year-old city of Bhubaneswar, one of the oldest ‘living’ cities of India, along with Varanasi and Puri, the latter famous for the temple of Lord Jagannath and the annual Festival of Chariots or Ratha Yatra. Padhi is married to Minakshi Rath, who taught Philosophy at Ravenshaw College. They have two grown up sons—Buddhaditya and Siladitya—and a granddaughter, Tanvisha.