The very title Bloom Again (or Phir Ugna) encapsulates the collection’s core ethos. It is not a nostalgic look at a lost past but a powerful assertion of a cyclical ethic of renewal, re-rooting, and reclamation. Even as poems like ‘Migration’, ‘Civilization’, and ‘Return’ mourn the dislocation caused by urbanization and modernity. The collection collectively gestures toward hope and resistance.
The book carries a poem or two from the random listings of poets cited above. The curation shows scant regard for spatial and/or temporal boundaries. This reviewer would refrain from referring to the collection as a symphony, tempting as the word may be, for while with a symphony each cord, each note is synchronized to meld into a harmonious whole, which is not the case with this delightful little book.
The metaphor of ‘lines’ is creatively traced both through text and visual image. The vivid images in the poem are given context and feeling through Kripa’s striking illustrations where washing lines are blown by the wind, a file of refugees walk through the cotton fields to find safety, and closed doors and gates represent the insensitivity and indifference of officialdom.
It is very difficult to even summarize the stories here because the twist at the end of each tale would not permit me to do so. Nevertheless, some of the titles and their backdrop and characters can be briefly mentioned here just to give the readers an idea about what to expect.
What makes this collection even more special is how the stories are framed. Each one begins with an introduction to an object deeply connected to Kashmiri life—a garment like the pheran, a jewelry piece like the saraf, or a flower or musical instrument.
The varied terrain of the Himalayan region hosts its own species and life forms, and each has a story to tell. The first section of the book has stories devoted to Birds and Animals, Flowers and Trees. The stories that follow in the second section lead into the mysterious world of ghosts, goblins and cunning tricksters. Such elusive figures have always dwelled in the mountain paths and caves, and continue to do so.