One Zero Eight

by Parvin D. Syal

by Parvin D. Syal

2020 shall be known as the year that was truncated by the COVID 19 virus, and the devastating effect it had globally. It was also the time of lockdowns and curfews. It was during a three-week period of confinement at home due to a lockdown that this collection of poetry One Zero Eight was conceived and written. The poet drew on his life’s experiences to pen 108 poems, which are a commentary on the events, places and personalities that influenced and etched a lasting impression on the poet.

This collection is an allegory – it uses the metaphysical and quantum-physical aspects of the numbers One Zero Eight. The interpretation is: One for Ego and creation; Zero for the void of death and regeneration; and Eight for infinity.

This collection is a travelogue – it recounts the different places the poet has traveled through in Africa, India, South-East Asia, Europe, and North America.

This collection is autobiographical and intensely personal, albeit with heavy doses of poetic license and rampant imagination.

This collection is a tribute to the various muses who have been the poet’s Erato through his journey of life, and to the vast canvas of emotions they catalyzed and crystallized in the poet’s mind.

This collection is dedicated to the memory of the poet’s mentor, the late Indian thespian Dev Anand, who was part of the poet’s maturing, in a friendship that spanned decades.

This collection has a foreword by Indian thespian and author, Parikshat Sahni, who continues to amaze and inspire the poet.

This collection is a series of paintings, where words of various hues and textures slide along the brush strokes of experience to create a vibrant and expansive tapestry.

Poetry, though, in the words of the poet, is always a work in progress, as its interpretation is like a shimmering mirage – enigmatic, mercurial, and ever-changing. The search for meaning is the adventure.