Saturday 6 June 2020

Book Review: Dots & Streaks by Ellora Mishra


Book: Dots & Streaks
Author: Ellora Mishra
Genre: Poetry 
Format: PDF
Pages: 104

Philosophical and artistic, the verses linger like the petrichor!

Dots & Streaks by Ellora Mishra can be called an artist's delight. Being a poet and having an artistic temperament, the book delighted me not only with the verses but also the photographs that the author has incorporated in the book. Dots & Streaks is a bouquet of fragrant poems, photographs, and prose pieces. 

The book has a welcome note from Life that says:

Word me 
Into verses
Or capture me 
In images endear.

The book starts with the profound poem "Time" that is so beautiful that I read it thrice. Have you ever felt like pausing time so that your loved ones can stay with you forever? I am sure all of us have, at some point in our lives. And this poem captures those feelings effortlessly.

"I am time, the one and only life's epitome
And now you know just like life, I'm but a palindrome."

The second poem in the collection "Just at the Bent" is a melancholic tale of separation and longing that touched my heart.

"So I shall continue to stand here
As long as I can
And let the silence remain
As the only sound between us."

The poet has composed many poems keeping the current situation of Lockdown and Covid-19 in mind. Apocalypse, Quintessential, and Social Distancing compel you to think about the present scenario from various perspectives. 

The strength of the poet is compelling the readers to think about various aspects of life. "Ego of the Candle" is one of the best poems in this collection. It is a dialogue between the candle flame and the candlestick (both basking in their pride) before the last moment when they hold on to each other. The poem teaches us that only cooperation and not competition can give us peace in life.
Another poem "Life as we know it" is an interesting dialogue between a tree, a bird, and a lamp post. The poet illustrates the saying "The Grass is always greener on the other side" through this philosophical poem. "That jigsaw puzzle" shows us how with the passage of time, the meaning of things changes. Among the prose pieces, "Debris" stands out. It is a thought-provoking piece about a soul's final destination. 

The beautiful photographs before each poem add a lot of beauty to the book. I would like to ask the poet whether the poems were inspired by the photographs or vice versa. Either way, the book pleases, delights, caresses, heals, and makes you contemplate. Philosophical and artistic, Dots & Streaks by Ellora Mishra linger in your mind like the petrichor, long after you have finished reading the book. 

Highly recommended to lovers of poetry and philosophy!

You can download a free copy of the book right away at 
https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/dots-and-streaks-by-ellora-mishra/

1 comment:

  1. It has always been an interesting feelings--at least it has so been for me--to read the original piece ahead of the review....it has two distinct flavours that one sip may offer...one of your own first read delight and the second to hold such images upon the canvas spread open by the reviewer....here is one such opportunity I have had...and thanks for extending such offer to me....
    I have been reading Ira for a quite some time and read all the poems prior to publication of her book and also had a re-reading once here book was published...through her review your book too, which bears not only rich literary flavour but also the courage of yours to take up re-valuation of those mythological or Epic characters in your own world of perception and present it in such a different form of poetry...maintaining the prosody and the melody, both so relevant when we take up ancient scriptures in current era...
    Now, coming back to your review of Ira's book, I must say that I loved the way it unfolded the philosophy secreted in her poetic work...and it generates a lot of interest for readers to go for it...and, as I see it through your review, I have had a kind of relook and re-evaluation of some of her work to get the fullest taste of it...
    Thanks for encouraging the writer and introducing her to us in such an inviting manner...regards

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