Sighs of Shadows: A Blend of Realism and Optimism

Sighs of Shadows

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Neelam Saxena Chandra is a miracle woman. Writing 79 books while managing a high-profile job is no mean achievement. She straddles many literary genres with ease, writing both in Hindi and English with enviable felicity. Neelam Saxena Chandra has been honoured with the Sohanlal Dwivedi Puraskar for Children’s Literature by the Maharashtra State Hindi Sahitya Akademi, the Premchand Award by the Ministry of Railways, the Rabindranath Tagore International Poetry Award, the Freedom Award by Radio City for Lyrics, the Reuel Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Setu Award for Excellence, 2024, among other accolades.

In 2014, listed by Forbes as one of the 78 most popular authors in India, she holds three records in the Limca Book of Records.

Sighs of Shadows is her latest book of poems, in which she has painted the different hues of the world. The cover of the book is a painting by the author herself—and what a beauty! Each poem is accompanied by an illustration which adds more spark to the book.

In the Acknowledgments, she says: “This book is the culmination of many thoughts, experiences and emotions that needed a voice… is dedicated to all those who dare to dream of a better world and work toward making it a reality.”

There is no dearth of range in the fifty poems in this collection. She writes about love, sorrow, poverty, joy, resilience, life, death, hope and pain, penning her verses about sex workers and widows with a compassionate quill.

As the back page blurb says: “The book invites readers to confront uncomfortable truths, embrace compassion, and envision a world where understanding and change go hand in hand. A blend of realism and optimism, Sighs of Shadows is a heartfelt call to action, urging us to listen to the sighs, step out of the shadows, and rewrite the narratives of our shared humanity.”

In her poems against injustice and social issues, like gender discrimination, she gives voice to the voiceless, stirring comatose souls and inspiring revolutionary change. Her sensitively written poems on Autism [‘Her Son. The Dilemma’] and Alzheimer’s [‘Woes’] leave one misty-eyed, and an earnest prayer erupts from the heart that by some miracle all those suffering are healed.

The poem ‘The Discrimination’ (p. 82) vocalizes the ardent desire of a young girl to go to a good school like her brother, and not to a dreary school where the teachers hardly teach. “Yes, I too yearn for a worthy education” is a cry wrung from the depths of a girl’s heart, who undoubtedly loves her brother but craves for better things than cooking, and resolves:

I know that I too shall make it some day from nothing,
I shall rise like the prodigious Phoenix!

‘He Trampled Flowers’ (page 96) is a very powerful and profound poem, hinting at the sensitivity of a poet as opposed to the insensitive nature of others—like the politician callously trampling the flowers under his feet, crushing them rather. Seeing this, the poet is choked with helpless tears:

The poet goes down, touches the crushed flowers,
And gives them a burial they rightfully deserve Other than that he is helpless.

There are poems about women struggling silently—bridegrooms expecting huge dowries, women chained by invisible shackles, women living in gilded cages, leading hollow existences, poems about child abuse, the plight of sex workers, widows and acid attack victims.

‘Reshma’ touched me beyond words. I could even visualize the strut and swagger of a woman rising from the ashes—pirouetting and preening and walking the ramp. Inadvertently, my hand went up to my forehead and saluted this brave girl. The grit and determination of this acid attack victim reminded me of Maya Angelou’s words:

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops?
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Words gush forth very effortlessly from the prolific pen of this sensitive poet, who wears many hats with aplomb. She is concerned about the erosion of values and pleads for compassion, kindness and tolerance. The universe is littered with a chaotic array of trials and triumphs, and she talks about them passionately. She strikes hard at the hypocrisy of the world which is “ruthless, frigid and unsentimental,” and she asks women to learn to swim.

Poverty, Alzheimer’s, old age—when chaos rules the world, it is LOVE that matters.

Let’s not talk about death.

Despite the horror inflicted on her, Reshma rose with confidence:

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise

Let us all add our pleas to Saxena’s hope that the beleaguered women,

swimming through mammoth oceans,
she’s bound to find her path someday [‘The Lone Woman’, page 44]

Let us join hands and bring transformation to this world, and rise “into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear” as Maya Angelou had hoped, and “rewrite the narratives of our shared humanity” as Neelam Saxena Chandra exhorts us through her profound words, tenderly hammering them on our consciences. May all women—daughters and daughters-in-law tortured by a misogynistic society that has no qualms about brutally scraping wombs for remnants of a girl child—rise and keep rising, undeterred by any roadblocks, bumps or snide remarks of the naysayers.

AuthorsPress has once again done an impeccable job, and Sudarshan Kcherry needs to be congratulated for offering yet another precious gift to the literary world.

May you keep writing and inspiring the world, Neelam Saxena Chandra.

Sighs of Shadows: Poems by Neelam Saxena Chandra
Author: Neelam Saxena Chandra
Publisher:  AuthorsPress, 2025
Price:  Rs. 295
PP: 108
Available on: Amazon

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About the Author

Santosh Bakaya ( 177 Posts)

Dr Santosh Bakaya is the author of three mystery novels for young adults, and a book of essays titled Flights From My Terrace, which was recently published as an e-book on Smashwords. Her poetic biography of Mahatma Gandhi, Ballad Of Bapu has been published by Vitasta Publishers, Delhi, India in May 2015 and has been receiving rave reviews from everywhere. Although a Political theorist, with a doctorate in political theory, it is literature which has been her first love. She was awarded the Reuel international award for language and literature 2014 for her long poem Oh Hark!, which forms part of the Significant Anthology. Many of her poems have figured in the highly commended category in Destiny Poets, a UK based website and many are part of international anthologies. Right now, she is giving the final touches to her satirical novel, tentatively titled Sanakpur Shenanigans.
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