You can always come back home

Dear Readers,

This has been a quiet year of reflection and redirection. We felt it was necessary to to take a pause for some good and bad reasons, and in the interim (as it always is with life), there have been gains and losses. A fresh wound is the recent loss of poet Vinod Kumar Shukla. A gentle way to bid farewell is to watch the delightful documentary Chaar Phool Hain Aur Duniya Hai by Manav Kaul, where Shukla and his son dwell on seeing, memory, meaning and the artist’s life.

For our part, we’d like to share a poem on returning home, both the comfort and the responsibility of it. When you move away, remember that you owe something to your home as well, namely the enlargement of your nostalgic love into a more expansive love and kindness even as you walk your own path. So, let home be not just a place, but your moral centre.

Door se apna ghar dekhna chahiye  

Door se apna ghar dekhna chahiye  
Majboori mein na laut sakne wali doori se apna ghar  

Kabhi laut sakenge ki poori aasha mein  
Saat samundar paar chale jaana chahiye  

Jaate-jaate palatkar dekhna chahiye  
Doosre desh se apna desh  

Antariksh se apni prithvi  
Tab ghar mein bachche kya karte honge ki yaad  

Prithvi mein bachche kya karte honge ki hogi  
Ghar mein ann-jal hoga ki nahin ki chinta  

Prithvi mein ann-jal ki chinta hogi  
Prithvi mein koi bhookha  

Ghar mein bhookha jaisa hoga  
Aur prithvi ki taraf lautna  

Ghar ki taraf lautne jaisa  
Ghar ka hisaab-kitaab itna gadbad hai  

Ki thodi door paidal jaakar ghar ki taraf lautta hoon  
Jaise prithvi ki taraf

//

One Should See One's Own Home From Far Off

One should see one’s own home from far off.
One should cross the seven oceans
to see one’s home,
in the helplessness of the unbridgeable distance,
fully hoping to return some day.
One should turn around, while journeying,
to see one’s own country from another.
One’s Earth, from space.
Then the memory of
what the children are doing at home
will be the memory of what children are doing on Earth.
Concern about food and drink at home
will be concern about food and drink on Earth.
Anyone hungry on Earth
will be like someone hungry at home.
And returning to Earth
will be like returning home.

Things back home are in such a mess
that after walking a few steps from home,
I return homewards as if it were Earth.

Translation by Vinod Kumar Shukla and Daniel Weissbort

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Poetry and Art as Solace

What has kept us sane over the years, and especially this year, has been the generative spirit of artists and writers, which has inspired all of the gifts and products we’ve created.

As we wrap up 2025, we’ve launched a massive sale and would love for you to check it out. Every small order helps keep Daak Vaak alive, and as a small business, we truly appreciate the support!

If you’re looking to immerse yourself in poetry, we’ve also launched a new digital product, A Poem A Month, where we will email you or your chosen recipient a surprise poem at the beginning of each month this year.

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Sending love and inspiration to you all!

Team Daak Vaak