Ragazza Parsi by Pestonji Bomanji and My Grandmother's House by Kamala Das

This week in Daak:

1. Ragazza Parsi by Pestonji Bomanji

2. My Grandmother’s House by Kamala Das

3. Want daily poetic inspiration?

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1. Ragazza Parsi by Pestonji Bomanji, 1887, Wikimedia Commons

Pestonji Bomanji was among India’s earliest practicing Parsi artists. We could dwell on his hyper realist style and technique in this arresting painting of a little girl, but instead, we’d like to draw your attention to her mischievous eyes and half-smile – it looks like this little lady has scribbled over a serious work of art and is proudly showing off her addition. This is such a lovely and humbling quality of children – through their playfulness, they often remind us of the futility of our adult concerns. Perhaps, more easily said when one is not the artists of the original painting she has so creatively ruined!

2. My Grandmother’s House by Kamala Das

There is a house now far away where once
I received love…That woman died,
The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved
Among books, I was then too young
To read, and my blood turned cold like the moon
How often I think of going
There, to peer through blind eyes of windows or
Just listen to the frozen air,
Or in wild despair, pick an armful of
Darkness to bring it here to lie
Behind my bedroom door like a brooding
Dog…you cannot believe, darling,
Can you, that I lived in such a house and
Was proud, and loved…. I who have lost
My way and beg now at strangers’ doors to
Receive love, at least in small change?

Somehow, the biggest respite from the aches of adult life, lies in the memory of a childhood home. In this poem, Kamala Das mourns the loss of not only a beloved home, but her former self – the innocence and self-assurance with which she believed in her own worth and lovability. At what point in the journey from childhood to adulthood do we forget ourselves and become insecure, fearful and unworthy of love?

3. Want daily poetic inspiration?

If you’re trying to read more South Asian poems, you will love the Daak Poetry Calendar in which we have lovingly curated our favourite lines of poetry. Our bestselling gift, it has a new poem for each day, and can be used year on year.