Tanu Gupta

Glowing Embers

Bhandari, Supriya. Glowing Embers, Ludhiana: Artcave Printers, 2009. Price Rs. 100  

Like many other contemporary women poets Supriya Bhandari, in her maiden collection Glowing Embers has broken the boundaries of tradition while expressing her pain, anguish, inner fears, frustration and desire for love. Though her life is full of dejections and rejections, but she still desires to be accepted by her lover. She is waiting for her lover and the repetition of the word “waiting” three times in one line and the expressions like “I need” in three consecutive lines intensify the meaning and arouse the emotions of the reader.

Her mind is full of conflicts as she yearns for her lover at one time and yet at other time she describes a lunatic better than a lover because of “the freedom” they “enjoy”. However, such contrasts have made the collection a refreshing one. Moreover, it’s her unflinching faith in God and religion which seems to give her some recompense.

Unlike other contemporary poets, she doesn’t seem to be a fighter though she is prepared to fight for her lover. Sometimes she rebels against the customs prevalent in the society as when she talks about the cruel system in which girls are sent away from their parents’ house after marriage.
I enjoyed this slim collection of poems for ease with which hope and despair are blended in a simple language. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy poetry in general, Indian poets in particular and even readers who want to swim deep into the sea of emotions and feelings.