An artist and a poet, Nibedita tells us about kitchendom, a woman’s world, in this poem. The painting is by her too. An exclusive for Different Truths.
pressure cooker whistles, day starts dancing and singing, dodging and dribbling olives and onions, turnips and tomatoes seven steps wide, twelve steps long my kitchendom has everything that a woman must need spices neatly strung at a reachable height spoons arranged like piano keys full moon chapatis* shine twenty-four hours, round the clock i sing to thaw the chill dance quick rounds to describe my world my hands are rough with scrubbing and cleaning but the smooth aubergine reminds me of that subtle touch and the 29th symphony the canvas calls squeezing time between lime and analgesic tubes i draw a perfect moon on a midday sky
(Published in “In the Company of Poets” 2004, Sterling Publishers)
Painting by the poet
Kolkata-born Nibedita Sen is a painter and a bilingual writer and a seafarer. She has worked with the visually impaired as a resource-person and a rehabilitation-counsellor and worked as a creative Art Therapist with spinal injured people and sexually abused, disadvantaged children. Her paintings have been showcased in prestigious galleries in India and abroad. She has travelled widely and has written for newspapers, journals, magazines, and anthologies in India and abroad. She stays in Delhi.
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BEAUTIFUL !Both Painting and Poem! Clad significantly in an ocean-blue apparel with a fishlike tail at the end, standing beside an open window, the queen of the neatly arranged, spick and span earthy-colored kitchen , reminds me of a mermaid, restless to go to the waves. Yes, while the home and hearth is our anchor, the ocean of a bigger, wider world outside our window doesn’t stop sending its call. Please keep drawing your moons and your stars on the canvas even in stark day light.