Friday, April 28, 2017

Evenings in Calcutta - Ben Zongte

Evenings in Calcutta were a number of things,
They were mostly conversations, the kind that always linger.

Evenings in Calcutta were honest,
They didn't betray you with pleasantries; they were
as they always were, loud and humid.

Evenings in Calcutta were addictive, an equilibrium
of peace and chaos. They were the colour of a
perfectly-made chai, skimmed with pale brown
pollution.

Evenings in Calcutta were glasses of wine,
the deepest red,
and the most sparkly white.

Evenings in Calcutta were life's lessons
of truthfulness and acceptance,
that one's anticipation of a breeze would only be
disheartening.




Ben Zongte is from Lunglei, Mizoram, and presently studying creative writing at the Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication in Delhi. He describes himself as a retrophiliac who is drawn to melancholy in people and literature, and seeks comfort in poetry.