Preeta Chag

translated by nandini kumar nickerson

Published by: Ebury Press (An imprint of Penguin Random House)

The book is eloquent and quiet, turbulent and still.

Thoughts. Feelings. Observations. ‘a bird on my windowsill’ is a rich medley of words and observations, drawing the reader into the world of the author, weaving a web of stillness and turmoil.

Firstly, a deep acknowledgement to nandini kumar nickerson for transcreating manav kaul’s words so beautifully. I am sure it must have been a herculean task to transform the depth of the original into something so meaningful for English readers.

“You create the world you live in.”

And Manav Kaul has created this wonderful world of words for one to bask in.

His writings emerge from the heart. Throughout the book, one can sense his deep disturbance at the state of the world today: man turning against man, and the way man has turned against the universe, making his future existence so precarious.

But yet there is a tenderness to the book, which is indescribable. It somehow reassures your faith in humanity. For, there is a deep understanding which echoes in his writings, even if it is of loss or despair or sorrow.

His travels are his journey to seek, to question, to find solace. They form a major part of his writing, giving him an innate sense of fulfilment.

“There is so much beauty to be seen in the world that I fear I started late.”

“Little did I realize that journeys, while taking our sorrows away, add something back too.”

Personally, the book read to me like a resonance of one’s inner self.

There’s a joy in writing anything anywhere…….. But the freedom of writing that I feel is freeing.”

Thoughts and reality intermingle, creating a rich kaleidoscope of emotions lain on the intense landscape of words. A collection of prose and poetry, the book seems straight from the heart, outpourings of the soul and a fervent need to express. His ‘chai ka cup’ and his sojourn into the mountains bring forth these beautiful, lyrical expressions which create an ethereal feeling so overwhelming.

The book makes you pause and reflect, paying homage to stillness while acknowledging the disquiet.

“It is easy to be complicated,

But hard to stay easy.

It’s easy to feel lonely in a crowd,

But it is difficult to live alone with yourself.”

This is a book to be read when you are feeling low, or when you are cheery; when you are questioning or just seeking. This is a book I will definitely return to read again and again.