triveni spotlight: 1st March 2026

triveni spotlight A FEATURE EVERY ALTERNATE DAY hosts: Anju Kishore and Mohua Maulik GUEST EDITOR: Swagata Soumyanarayan

1st March 2026

triveni spotlight March 2026

dabbing

on my charcoal drawing

something of you

in each contour

— Arvinder Kaur 

Cold Moon Journal, 29 April 2024 

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Nostalgia 

“We are all strangers in a strange land, longing for home, but not quite knowing what or where home is. We glimpse it sometimes in our dreams, or as we turn a corner, and suddenly there is a strange, sweet familiarity that vanishes almost as soon as it comes.”― Madeleine L’Engle, The Rock That Is Higher: Story as Truth  

The Greek meaning of nostalgia is ‘pain from an old wound’ and this feeling is more than just a memory. It’s a bittersweet ache that makes one crave to go back to the place where it all began. To me, nostalgia is a surreal world I visit that’s filled with scenes from school, my late parents, old friends, and so much more.  A part of it is tinged with sorrow for the days past but there’s also joy when reminiscing fun times of childhood. 

Nostalgia paints a rosier version of the past and we believe that ‘today’ is terrifying. We imagine the present as a strange land from which we need to return to the past. But we fail to see the past’s flaws and that everything has its place. Nostalgia allows us to reflect on our journey, growth, and experiences. It’s akin to a jar of coins that we collect through life and can use when needed. 

The selected poems touch upon different shades of emotions and memories and delve into both past and present. I hope the poems will touch the readers and invite them to linger awhile. My warm thanks to each poet for their verse. 

As William Faulkner said, “Memory believes before knowing remembers.” ― Light in August

Swagata Soumyanarayan

Thank you, Swagata. We can't wait to see how the month unfolds, one poem at a time, just like how nostalgia as an emotion peels us, a layer at a time.

Team Triveni Spotlight 

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