Book Review: An Ode To Shimla by Sanjeev Bansal

An Ode to Shimla

Author: Sanjeev Bansal
Publisher: Frog Books

Nature is a dauntless princess who has a natural aura of her own. Once captivated by her enigmatic beauty, it is very difficult to escape the trance and not think about her. ‘Shimla’ is a name that can give a reminiscent bump to those who have been to this place and the love for this place cannot be shown in a more beautiful way. ‘An Ode to Shimla’ offers lyrical poems that describe the city life, the natural beauty and the hive of activities in the city.

The book is a collection of poems that portray the beauty of Shimla on a plain canvas. My personal favourites include- The Ranunculus and Dawn and Dusk. The way the poet has addressed the flower as ‘she’ using extensive personification and Apostrophe, is really good. The idea being conveyed through the poem ‘Dawn & Dusk’ is also beautifully expressed. All the poems follow free verse and there is no particular rhyme scheme.

However, there are several punctuation errors; the majority of the poems end with a semi-colon. If there is a reason behind this, then I would be glad if the poet mentions the same in the comments section. Some of the expressions also didn’t quite seem correct to me or maybe I was not able to comprehend the emotion behind them (like gaiety’s acoustic- the apostrophe seemed extra here).

Overall, I would say that the free verses serve ‘Shimla- the city’ in mint condition on the platter.

Buying Link: Amazon