In this poignant poem, Dr Pragya deals with the tangible-intangible dualities of the mind, exclusively for Different Truths.

I'm on my way back to Pune
The luggage is full of stuff I got in exchange for money
Handicrafts, local sweets, souvenirs, 
pearls and jewellery made of shells

No one knew,
I handpicked little things openly
for free
More than anything,
they are going to stay with me
in the bank of my memory
in the form of a story
Rest everything will perish

I will polish its tantalising beauty
and turn it into precious gems from ordinary jiffies
carefully saved in my photo gallery
The seashells scattered on the shore
The unfinished corals I couldn't ignore
The island turned into heaven's gateway 
where I can revisit like popping flashes 

I brought along the breeze, the peace, 
the crashing waves, all of the tranquil place 
with our footprints on it
like a fossil in my mind
No extra baggage – I paid nothing
Those security men on duty 
thought they scanned everything.

Picture design by Anumita Roy, Different Truths

Dr Pragya Bajpai

Dr Pragya Bajpai, Ph.D. is a poet, editor, and academic serving at the National Defence Academy, Pune. She is a postgraduate from Lucknow University and has received her PhD in English Literature from Banaras Hindu University, India. She has authored two collections of poems titled A Potpourri of Proverbs (2021) and Conversation on Cue (2023), co-authored with Shefali Nautiyal. She has edited five anthologies celebrating the armed forces.