HAIKUsutradhar : 3rd January 2025

A FRIDAY FEATURE

Host: Gauri Dixit

Prompter for January: Prakash Thombre

OUR MISSION

1. To provide a new poetry workshop each Friday, along with a prompt.

2. To select haiku, senryu, and haiga each month for the journal, haikuKATHA. Each issue will select poems that were posted in this forum from the 3rd of the previous month to the 2nd of the current month.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

1. Post a maximum of two verses per week, from Friday to Friday, numbered 1 & 2. Post only one haiku in a day, in 24 hours.

2. Only post unpublished verses --- nothing that has appeared in peer-reviewed or edited journals, anthologies, your webpage, social media, etc.

3. Only post original verses.

4. For each poem you post, comment on one other person’s poem.

5. Give feedback only to those poets who have requested it.

6. Do not post a variety of drafts, along with a request for readers to choose which they like most. Only one poem is to appear in each original post.

7. Post each revision, if you have any, above the original. The top version will be your submission to haikuKATHA. Do not delete the original post.

8. Do not submit found poetry or split sequences.

9. Do not post photos, except for haiga.

10. haikuKATHA will only consider haiga that showcase original artwork or photos. Post details re: the source of the visual image. If you team up with an artist or photographer, make sure that it’s their original work and that they are not restricted by other publications to share it. We won't be responsible for any copyright issues.

11. Put your name, followed by your country, below each poem, even after revisions.

Poems that do not follow the guidelines may be deleted.

Founder/Managing Editor of haikuKATHA Monthly Journal: Kala Ramesh

Associate Editors: Ashish Narain Firdaus Parvez Priti Aisola Sanjuktaa Asopa Shalini Pattabiraman Suraja Menon Roychowdhury Vandana Parashar Vidya Shankar

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PROMPT:

3rd January

Prakash Thombre

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Ink sketch and write-up by Prakash Thombre, Pune.

The Festival of Choices

He stood in the bustling marketplace, quietly lost in thought, hands folded behind his back, holding a simple cloth bag, an old umbrella hanging from his collar. His faded, folded lungi and weary eyes spoke of a life shaped by hard choices. Around him, people bought with ease, seeking festive applause and admiration, piling their carts high without a second thought. But for him, every coin counted, every purchase a choice between the small, unspoken wishes of his family and the reality of his empty pockets. He thought of his wife’s longing for a new saree, and his children’s innocent hopes for sweets or a toy. A pang of guilt mixed with determination filled his heart as he wondered how he could bring them even a small taste of joy this festival season. For him, this wasn’t about appearances or impressing anyone — it was about finding a way, however humble, to honour the love and dreams that kept his family going, no matter how little he had to give.

This week, let us think about choices we make. How do we prioritise? What are our choices driven by? Will we give up our things for someone in particular? Write your poems with the theme of choices in your mind and share them here.

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Looking forward to reading your haiku.

Write on! Gauri