Book Review — Shades of Solitude by Mansi Chaturvedi
Shades of Solitude by Mansi Chaturvedi is a beautifully penned down poetry collection during the pandemic lockdown. That time our world seemed to have turned upside down, almost everything came to standstill, and we got confined to our homes, places, and abodes. However, for many that was also time to reflect back upon their lives, a perfect epoch for introspection and unleashing the creative powers. Mansi took to writing poetry that many could relate to. And the result is ‘Shades of Solitude’. The title suggests that during that time each one of us felt the hues of solitude and loneliness, rather it was inevitable.
The book offers around 40 short poems, in between there are a few short articles summing up the state of heart and mind during the pandemic. And in the last pages have some thought-provoking quotes about life and its vicissitudes.
The early poems of the collection still reverberates the shock that came with the pandemic. It was quite a common feeling among the mass. The Arrival is a short note, urgent and introspective in nature. Next follows a few poems that describe the immediate state of the lockdown. As the book begins, Mansi treated Covid as a guest in disguise — an unwelcome one — no one loves that guest. The outside ambience is rendered barren, deserted, the noise of hustle bustles gone. It looked eerie…but the blaring truth.
But the isolation from the outside world wasn’t only about our daily chores and connection with the humdrum. Instead, we were forced in a state of cogitation, from the second segment the poet reflected upon our inner state of soul and heart and mind. The way we celebrated occasions changed, a new definition of home was coming up, people worked from homes…life was affected by Covid pandemic, it ran like banter in the collection; however, the poems continued exploring stirred emotions that most of us felt then.
Not only about her heart and mind — how her life unfolded in the coziness of confined walls — she also thanked people that worked relentlessly to save others…they were Corona warriors.
The poems discuss a large range of human emotions and the frailty of our times. Evident themes found in the book is coping with solitude in the pandemic and accepting the transformation in life is god’s plan. This type of poetry is likeable where you generally don’t have to sit and analyze it for hours. The prominent USP of the book is that poems are for all — easy to understand, light yet intense in their own beauty. You just read it and feel it. If not all, readers will connect with quite a few of the poems.
The book is available on Amazon India for purchase
