By: Shobhana Kumar

suddenly, i remember faces
only alive in fading photographs.

today, it is
the benevolent face of
a grand uncle,
whose freshly Cinthol-soaped face
and silver white stubbles
always held a smile for me.
he, who i haven’t bothered
to recall since his funeral
and the fresh tears soon after.

the memory lingers
bringing with it
sunny afternoons with him,
the Ramayana rewound and replayed
many times over.

he stays with me a few days,
guest-like in his unobtrusiveness
and suddenly leaves me
for another visitor.

Shobhana Kumar’s first volume of poetry, ‘The Voices Never Stop,’ was published by Writers Workshop, Calcutta in 2012. Her work is also featured in ‘The Dance of the Peacock—An Anthology of English Poetry from India’ edited by Dr. Vivekanand Jha and in online journals including Muse India, The Brown Critique and Kritya Journal of Poetry. She has authored four books of non-fiction—Coimbatore, The Emerging Indian Cosmopolis, SIMA—A journey Through 75 Years, Lakshmi, An Inspiring Legacy and An Event Called Life, Dr. P.C. Thomas in Conversation with Shobhana Kumar. When not writing, she works as an advertising consultant, communications trainer and storyteller.