Mere Donon Banaras

My first collection of poems, Main Samsat Ban Jaoon, was a happy coincidence for me. At that time, I neither desired nor felt that a second book could even be a possibility. The most difficult part of a book for me to write was the preface. Writing a preface is a formal display, a kind of appeal to the reader to like the book, whether they want it or not. Theres also the daunting possibility that the reader might feel like a novice just after reading the preface.The book is titled Mere Do Banaras, and its a symbolic name. Even I felt it was audacious to include Banaras in the books title without even visiting it. Reading, hearing, and imagining about Banaras has left a reflection of Banaras within me. In that reflection, Banaras transcends the boundaries of being just a place. Youll probably find Banaras in only three poems in the book. But if you search, youll probably find Banaras in almost all of them.Writing or thinking about love one day and death the next seems utterly contradictory. But its also possible that the awareness of ones own mortality makes love more necessary. In the realization of immortality, we have plenty of time for jealousy and hatred, but a dying body must know that the best time to love is now. My poems primarily revolve around either death or love. For me, Banaras is both love and death.-Saurabh Bhuwania