A Piece of Your Mind for Peace of Mind - Manali Desai
My Rating: 4.4
In today’s world, where life has turned into a rat race,
and people depend on their devices, using emojis to express their feelings,
Manali Desai has used the self-same emoticons to illustrate the forty-five
poems through which she has presented an entire kaleidoscope of life. Every
poem begins with an apt emoticon and a feeling expressed by the poet, which
serves as a hint to what lies ahead. Many of the poems are also accompanied by
cute doodles and illustrations which further add to the essence of the content.
The eye-catching cover image is in grey and blue, maybe
denoting the various hues of life, the yin and yang, the good, the bad and the
ugly. The pun that makes up the title is unusual and effective!
Manali Desai’s poems cover a plethora of emotions, both
positive and negative, that people go through in their day-to-day lives. The
message they convey is that it is normal for humans to experience the ups and
downs of life, to ride a seesaw of emotions. The language is simple, revolving
around one central idea, denoting the commonality of emotions experienced by humanity.
The themes range from relationships to friendship, from
self-doubt, shame, lost identity and frustration, and self-acceptance, self-assurance
and love. There are references to ‘Home, Sweet Home’ and occasions when the poet wonders about 'What To Do, What Not to Do'.’. The poem ‘Full Circle’ talks of
how after years of anger and frustration, the poet accepts that “life had come
full circle/ I knew that what I had felt most of my life was something I could
let go of/ And just like that my anger was replaced with acceptance.”
One of my favourite poems is ‘Mirror, Mirror on the
Wall’, where little barbs create a dent in a person’s confidence, but at the
end, “the self-assurance dominated the self-doubt again.” ‘My Bad’ touches on
the topic of doublespeak, where words convey dual emotions, hurting loved ones,
and ends up with half-apologies.
The author’s emotions shine through her poetry. She
treats life as a learning process, where she urges the readers to go on with
confidence, trudge on and learn and grow. However, she also warns them to ‘Take
a Break, Don’t Break’, and instead pay attention to the signals that the mind
and body give at regular intervals. Life is ‘Sometimes Easy, Sometimes Tough’,
and ‘Instability, Uncertainty, Unsurety’ play their roles in adding tension to
life.
Manali Desai’s biggest forte lies in her ability to
choose apt titles that give a hint of what lies within each poem. Nowhere does
she claim that life is a bed of roses, and the nuggets of wisdom she imparts are
invaluable. While most of her poems are in free verse, there are examples of acrostic
poems like ‘Breaking the Norms’, and ‘Moments of Joy’ which talk about the
sources of joy from A to Z. The latter, along with ‘M For Mischief’ are two
poems that touch the heart with their joie de vivre, especially the statement
that works as a page breaker - "I Solemnly Swear that I Am Up To No Good.” The
poems titled ‘Don’t Stop, Make it Pop’ and ‘Not A Regular’ seem to define the
attitude of the poet… quirky, fun and “A something that sets apart/The regular
from the not-so-common.”
In my opinion, one of the most understated and yet
beautiful poems is ‘Not in So Many Words’ where love is conveyed in different
ways, ending with the query “Does love always need to be verbal?”
While this book has many plus points, the only point that
maybe, went against the grain, was the fact that some of the poems seemed repetitious
at times. However, this takes nothing away from the content of the book, which
packs a punch even as it illustrates many hard hitting truths, both positive and
negative, which make up the essence of life.
The book is available at:
https://www.amazon.in/Piece-Your-Mind-Peace-ebook/dp/B0B9CK19NC/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1663178060&refinements=p_27%3AManali+Desai&s=books&sr=1-1
This is an overwhelming review, Deepti. I'm deeply touched.
ReplyDeleteWhat I especially loved is how you used the titles of the poems to describe your thoughts about the book. You're much too kind and I'm so so grateful :)
Dear Manali, I enjoyed going through your poems and at the end I was spoilt for choice because I did not know how to put in everything I wanted to in my review. Congratulations on a stellar book! All the best for your next as well.
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