India

Mumbai Mother Finds Comfort in Borrowed Poetry During Diwali

By Sonya Dutta Choudhury

On a Diwali morning in Mumbai, a mother and her son visited a local market to buy kitchen containers. After shopping, they stopped at Poetry and Cheesecake for cold coffee. The waitress, a young woman in her twenties, presented the bill inside an anthology of poetry. The mother opened the book and read a line, "There was a ship," which reminded her of evenings when she used to read aloud to her children. She asked to buy the book, but the waitress explained that the anthology was the only copy and was kept for billing purposes. The waitress then offered to let her borrow it. The mother expressed gratitude and promised to return it. She began reading the poems in the car, enjoying the large print and familiar verses. The family plans to read them aloud after lighting diyas. The next day, the son will return the book, hoping the waitress will be present to thank her. Earlier, a book club meeting held in saris featured discussions about several titles. Members favored "Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation" by Dr. Eleanor Barnett and "Prayers for Rain," a murder mystery by Dennis Lehane, while "Swallowing the Sun" by Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri was less popular. The article lists recommended books for Diwali, including the satirical novel "Yesteryear" by Caro Claire Burke, feel‑good novels "Whistler" by Ann Patchett and "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans, poetry collections such as Anne Carson’s "Glass, Irony and God," and non‑fiction titles like "London Falling" by Patrick Radden Keefe and "Marginlands" by Arati Kumar‑Rao. The author, Sonya Dutta Choudhury, invites readers to share memories of poems read to them as children and offers book recommendations via her email.