From Ghalib to Gulzar: New anthology maps India's cities through 375 poems

Hindustan Times

a day ago

New Delhi, From Ghalib's Delhi and Nissim Ezekiel's Bombay to Agha Shahid Ali's Srinagar and Kamala Das' Calcutta, poets have cast their spell over every corner of the country. A new anthology, "The Penguin Book of Poems on the Indian City", captures the same enchantment, taking readers on a poetic voyage across 37 Indian cities.
The recently released anthology, edited by Bilal Moin and published by Penguin Random House India , features a total of 375 poems, including works originally written in English as well as translations from nearly 20 different languages.
"It was an honour to compile this poetic atlas of Indian cities — a first-of-its-kind anthology bringing together poetic voices spanning over 1,500 years, translated from more than 20 languages. Here, legendary poets of antiquity coexist with young voices crafting verses in the age of social media, narrating the cities they inhabited and tracing their evolving identities.
"Expanding beyond major metropolises, this anthology captures the rhythms and realities of thirty-seven diverse cities, spotlighting forgotten poets and revitalizing many near-lost contributions," said Moin, who has also authored a collection of haikus, titled 'The Ideajunkyard' in 2018.
Spanning from the classical voices of Valmiki and the Sangam poets to the Bhakti and Sufi traditions represented by Surdas, Kabir, and Amir Khusrau, as well as early modern poets like Mir Taqi Mir, Narmad, Rudyard Kipling, and Rabindranath Tagore, the anthology provides a rich and immersive lyrical journey through India's cities.
It also features contemporary poets including the likes of Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Vikram Seth, Eunice de Souza, Arun Kolatkar, Amrita Pritam, Amit Chaudhuri and Gulzar. And together, they all take the reader through depictions of cities as imperial capitals, colonial outposts and dynamic, ever-evolving spaces that serve as the backdrop for postmodern life.
According to the publisher, at its core, "The Penguin Book of Poems on the Indian City" is a collection that portrays the Indian city as a complex organism and living embodiment of the collective consciences of its many, many residents.
"A collection for not just those who live in the cities featured in this book but for anyone who is familiar with the chaotic, paradoxical and magical tableau that constitutes life in a city in this part of the world," they added.
The 1062-page tome, priced at ₹1,999, is available for purchase across online and offline stores.