For better & for verse

We got India's most exciting young poets to compose original poems especially for HT Brunch. Haiku, free verse, ghazals and more. Which one will speak to you?

What is a poem? School led us to believe that it was anything that rhymed. Lyricists still seem to think so. Poets, however, see it differently. A poem finds new ways to express an idea. It puts vague feelings into words. It needs no hero or villain to separate good from evil. A good poem, in fact, reveals its secrets slowly, over multiple readings, offering interpretations long after you've turned the page.

Poems record history, spark revolution, tear you apart and put you back together. For this issue of Brunch we asked poets across India to compose work about new beginnings. Virat Nehru's works, in Urdu, help him stay connected to his roots. Janice Pariat's poems are the blueprint of modern-day love, loss and life, Akhil Katyal's verses, posted online, bring a sense of permanence to everyday emotions. Akhila Mohan CG's haikus are almost a form of therapy. Get a little poetry into your weekend here:

Sestina for new journeys
By Janice Pariat

In a new month, early in the morning, the colonist and you go onto shore; now you must walk, leaving the river and the small boat behind.