Writer Kavita A. Jindal’s Blog | Writing | Fiction | Poetry

My Birth Telegram: New Poem for NPD 2016

For National Poetry Day 2016 on the theme of messages, here’s a new poem:
‘My Birth Telegram’.
my_birth_telegram_2

New Poem: Beach Apparel

On the subject of the #BurkiniBan in France, here’s a new poem:

Beach Apparel

Nigella covers herself head to foot
to frolic on Bondi beach.
If Nazia does the same in France
a liberal lesson we should teach.
Not that we’re fundamentalist
or extreme; we don’t preach.

We just outlaw what we don’t like
spit at what doesn’t fit
we make women stay at home
unless they take off their kit.
We’re different from that other lot
who insist ladies cover up in what-not!

I’ll go to the beach dressed as a nun
I think I’ll be allowed to have some fun.
I’ll wear a sari to enjoy sun, sea, sand.
Show midriff only. Will a sari be banned?

The Streets of Barnes

An Exhibition of Paintings by Paul Wuensche and
Poems by Kavita A Jindal
at
The Old Sorting Office Arts Centre (OSO), 49 Station Road, Barnes, LONDON SW13 0SF

Exhibition runs 28th September – 26th October

Final Week | Private View, Reading & Closing Party
Wednesday 19 October 2016 | 6.30pm – 9:00pm
OSO Arts Centre, 49 Station Road, Barnes, London SW13 0SF
Poetry reading at 7:00pm.

Launch evening was on Wednesday 28th September 6.30 – 9:00pm with Poetry reading at 7:00pm

I am delighted that this collaboration with the artist Paul Wuensche has come to fruition. The exhibition features poems that were inspired by the sights and sounds in my garden and observations made on my walks along the Thames towpath.

At the launch evening I gave a short reading of some of my poems on this theme. The exhibition space allows for only a few poems to be displayed, to complement the paintings.

Since last year Paul has been observing and painting the ordinary streets of Barnes from his car (converted into a mobile art studio), resulting in a collection of bijoux paintings, that celebrate the trees, the houses, the cars, and even the phone boxes of Barnes throughout the seasons.

You can preview some of the work here: http://paulwuensche.com/the-streets-of-barnes/.

We’ve produced a little pamphlet as a memento of the project. It also served as the exhibition programme at events. It was so popular that copies of the booklet are stocked in the Barnes Bookshop.