Ponder 2022: This day, like any other

Today, I turn 49.

I wish things could have been better, but I also am grateful for what I have. This year has pushed me in a different direction than I wished for, but also granted me some purpose and direction to go forward.

As I enter the end of my fifth decade on this planet, I look forward to my future with renewed zeal and purpose. I am ready.

But before we go into the future, I shall give a glimpse of today. First let me say grace — my prayer, nay, my poem of gratitude. This defines me a bit if you know me by now.

Poem: This day, like any other

Somebody pulled the night’s blanket over my eyes
Letting the first rays of the sun sneak in
I am supposed to feel special about today
I would, if I did not feel like that every day

Nothing has changed — except…except
that a few hundred souls just remembered me
For those little, little moments, and wished me
Health, wealth, and bountiful happiness
That is special, my folks, that is indeed special

In the fringes of your busy horizon
I flicker and vanish across on this day
Like that annual comet or the shooting star
The little streak highlighting my gratitude

This day is otherwise, just like any other
A short run, a few lines of fiction and poetry
A bit of reading and brooding over this:
How I can be the forever star in your sky.

~Ashok Subramanian © 2023

Ponder 2022:

I wanted to get Ponder 2022 in June. It is now a three-year ritual. There is no way I would have it otherwise. So, I got the book released on Amazon on Kindle on the 10th and the India Paperback Edition on Notionpress on June 19th. The book has turned out well.

Donovan picked a copy of Ponder 2022. He is an amazing poet.

First, Donovan, one of the poets that Ponder lays tributes, shared this picture of both Ponder editions he has been part of ( 2021, 2022). No wonder, I was thrilled.

The India Paperback Edition has always been the one I have in my hands, and so I got them on the 24th, a day before my birthday. So, I announced the launch of the paperback edition in a wink.

I hold Ponder 2022, India paperback in my hands.

The feeling of publishing something after 12 months, the softness of the cover, and the smell of the printed pages made me dizzy. It was indeed my moment.

I took a moment to realize the journey I had taken. 85 poems, 40 poets, 38 reviews in 3 years. It is something I am proud of.

3 years of Ponder.

It behoves that when two occasions collide — Ponder 2022 launch and my birthday, it only makes sense to share the first few copies with the ones who are near and dear.

My son, Anirudh, and I met my business partner Mahesh and his wife, Lakshmi for lunch on my birthday.

Lakshmi Mahesh receives the first signed copy of Ponder 2022 from me.

In the evening, my brother visited me along with my niece. We had a quiet dinner and a cake cutting. I shared the second signed copy with him.

My brother and niece receive the second signed copy of Ponder 2022 from me.

I wish the Ponder series reaches more hands so that the profoundness of contemporary poetry is savored by many minds.

Two Tibetan Poetry collections as a gift for my birthday

I was gifted with two books — both Tibetan poetry collections by Lakshmi and Mahesh. The two are Swirl, by Ten Phun and ‘Songs from Dewachen’ by Bhuchung D Sonam. You will hear more from me on these shortly. I thank Lakshmi and Mahesh for this wonderful gift on my birthday.

Finally, Priya, my friend, woke up and said she forgot my birthday. It hurts, huh?

The best news of the day was from my reticent editor Shwetahitesh. I cannot but share as it was a significant movement forward in understanding her complex, deep mind.

Quoting her:

… is grand…it needs a bigger and better stage….a more equipped team. Anything lesser would be criminal….
So yes, it’s taking time…

Ah. That is the update on the ‘The Bachelor’s Wife and Other Stories’ manuscript.

But there was another revelation. She agreed to read my manuscript for ‘A City Full of Stories 2: Stories from the City of Joy’. I sent her this picture.

See, that is how I felt.

Now why this is interesting. I posted it in my announcement group on Whatsapp.

It is … so magical when I relive this occasion. I wrote ACFOS — 2, Stories from the City of Joy sitting next to my Mother, as she withered away. In hospital rooms and the back seat of my car, with AC on, battling mosquitoes and rains, with my mind torn between the helplessness of my mother’s condition, ACFOS 2, A City Full of Stories — 2 is my best work yet. But, from one of the stories, ‘Rabindra’s Rishyashringa’ — an entire book was born — ‘The Bachelor’s Wife and Other Stories’, which is another piece I am proud of. Here is what my editor had to say about the BW ( Bachelors’ Wife) — It is grand, and it deserves time. So… let us wait, my friends. Just sharing this note before I sign off on my B’day.

So that is that folks. The first day of the last year of the fifth decade of my life was amazing. I am sure you will agree.

~Ashok Subramanian © 2023