Tell Me Your Real Story - Book Review

Tell Me Your Real Story is a collection of poems by Savita Nair. I really liked the book because it offered something refreshingly new. The poems are contemporary. They deal with the issues faced by the urban youth. So we have poems about selfies, diplomacy, being a conformist. Also there are poems about dealing with a bad boss, beer, facebook, being in control of your life. The poetess succeeds in bringing the struggles of urban young and women to the fore. Her topics, her disappointment and her frustration is palpable.

These poems are about a young person with many idealistic dreams in her eyes, but who is caught in the rut. They are about breaking the stereotypes and becoming free. They are rebellious and path breaking.

The writing is simple and easy to relate. Every poem is a story in itself. The book leaves you enriched. It makes you to introspect about your life. Yes, the poems may lack the rhyming words and meter. But the content is indeed disruptive. That is the reason why I liked Tell Me Your Real Story.

Three Young Boys

Three young boys shared a hovel

They were of the same age, built and colour

One of them wore a skull cap,

another applied a tika on his forehead and 

the third had a cross dangling from his neck

One day they had a fight

Voices were raised

Gestures were made

Words were exchanged

Then came the night

The skull cap lay on the table

along with the cross and 

the box containing sandal paste

Mother nature took 

all its children

near Her bosom

My Home

Sitting alone I dream of going home

But now what is my home?

Four walls of brick and  mortar

made of the same clay

where my loved ones lay

Long silhouettes which continue 

to smile at me

Abandoned

I have abandoned that house which merely provided shelter devoid of any warmth.
I have abandoned that morsel which gave food but no satiety.
I have abandoned those relations which were pinching chains in my legs.
I have abandoned those relatives who are merely titular and who did not provide me any solace in troubled waters.
I have abandoned that sex which is only physical intimacy without any passion.
I have abandoned that religion which is only babbling of indiscernible texts.
I have abandoned that life which means security, learning only for earning and which is devoid of any scent of the soul.

Illusion

I have hundreds of friends in my facebook window
But I do not know who lives next door
I daily upgrade my profile pics and receive many likes
But I do not know what I really like
I use the latest operating system
But I share every online superstition
Many people I follow
But inside I am so lonely and hollow
I receive many birthday wishes on my wall 
But there are no claps in my hall
I am dead long back
But I am virtually alive 24 X 7
Likes, comments and shares
Turn me into a pseudo achiever
Alas! In my grave
I become a celebrity
Albeit only in my illusive eyes

Enriched

Tired in the evening
I am on my way to home from office
I trudge along a familiar path
The path that I trod from school to home
and my office bag dangles like a water bottle
Serendipitously I discover a treasure
A peacock feather, an empty matchbox
and a chocolate wrapper golden in colour
all covered in the dust of time
I see a spotted mongrel with her pups
I take home one in my cups
I return home enriched
with a value addition to my portfolio

Dawn

In the stark darkness of night

your body radiates light

I touch your silky skin

causing ripples on its sheen

I run my fingers through your lustrous hair

It appears a fragrant fanfare

After feeling your halves which are curvaceous

I am embarrassed of my slender habitus

By the dawn

darkness mixes into light

and day mixes into night

You and me become one

and beautiful like you

I have become