Shapes of Longing is a collection of poems on love and longing, in which love gets realized in only in the longing for it – what in the Sanskrit tradition is known as ‘vipralambh shringar’. Though very contemporary in their imagery and syntax, these poems still resonate with the bygone history of love poems by the likes of the legendary Soordas of the erstwhile Braj region of India, and also the iconic Rumi of Persia. This allows the reader not only to savour these poems as they are, but also propose an alternate reading of traditional love poetry by ancient masters of the genre.

The poems in this collection from a scintillating narrative of the disappearance of the lover’s ego in the agony of the absence of his beloved.