Searching for Coffee in Jaipur

"Peacocks are raucous and find roofs with easy comfort -

there is still place in this concrete jungle, even if

some hearts go for a walk in search of a soul.

 

Do we find comfort in the quiet disregard of the unfamiliar?"

 

Our search for the soul of a city is ever so twisted, as it should be. A city needs to be lived in. On its streets, one needs to be mauled with aromas, with its obsessions, with its politics, with its unkindness, with its unseeing generosities, what keeps it awake at night, and what its mornings bring forth.

 

A visitor passing by will only see it's freshly painted hoardings, not it's tiredness. It's facades and it's colors might give it the sheen it wants to project, but you often have to only turn a corner to see it's permanent shadows.

 

So then, it's a good idea to spend time in a pavement tea stall or a café in the middle of its bustling heart, and immerse oneself in its cadences and concerns, it's voices and noises, what passes by, who stays, what sticks and what's evanescent, the words which are spoken and laughed away and the sentences which linger, coalesce and fall as hard as stones and refuse to be swept away.

 

The soul is there for you to see.

 

If you liked this poem, consider listening to these other poems which talk of cities, and the love for them -

• Indian Summers
• Calcutta - A Lover's Epitaph
• A City Made of Our Sighs

Find other magical things, like a lovely free chapbook of poems, and other resources here.

 

Uncut Poetry has started a new Podcast called Red River Sessions (on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, etc), where we will talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books, and Uncut Poetry. 

 

I am Sunil Bhandari.

 

I am a poet based out of India. My book of poetry 'Of Love and Other Abandonments' was an Amazon bestseller. My second book is 'Of Journeys & Other Ways to Get Lost'. Both are available on Amazon.

Follow me on Instagram at @sunilgivesup.

Get in touch with me on uncutpoetrynow@gmail.com

 

The details of the music used in this episode are as follows -

Adventure by Alexander Nakarada
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6092-adventure
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license