Leeladhar Mandloi calls the poet’s silences a testament to lost time and unfulfilled desires

New Delhi, August 9, 2025

The Delhi Book Fair 2025 became a stage for thoughtful literary discussion with the launch of poet Harish Arora’s sixth collection, “Tumhari Chuppiyan Ek Ghoshnapatra Hain” (Your Silences are a Manifesto). Published by Adwik Prakashan and hosted by the Delhi Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, the event brought together noted poets, critics, and readers to reflect on the themes of silence, memory, and incompleteness in contemporary verse.

Opening the discussion, chief guest Leeladhar Mandloi described Arora’s work as “witness to lost time” and placed it within a tradition of poetry where incompleteness becomes a defining voice. He noted that the collection reads like a collage of unfulfilled desires, with the poet’s silences finding expression in a clear and resonant form.

Adding another perspective, presiding guest and veteran lyricist Indira Mohan spoke about the inward quality of Arora’s poems. She described the collection as one that invites readers to pause, reflect, and look within—finding in its pages both moments of deep attachment and an undercurrent of detachment.

When it was his turn to speak, Harish Arora shared his own view of the book, explaining that the poems trace “circles of silence” which open layer upon layer of experiences gathered over many years. He suggested that silences themselves create an echo that shapes the inner life of the work.

The evening also featured insights from other literary voices. Prof. Rachna Bimal welcomed attendees by observing that Arora’s poetic vision extends beyond contemporary themes and can be interpreted through a post-contemporary lens. Critic Ashok Mishra found in the poems a voice that emerges from within silences, noting a clear departure in style and tone from the poet’s earlier collections.

Continuing the conversation, Prof. Sudhir Pratap Singh likened the reading of this collection to a journey, with silences that unsettle even life’s still moments. He quoted lines from the book to illustrate this:

“This collection is the home of those words
that stood behind the door, waiting
to be recognised, to be heard, to be accepted.”

Senior critic Rishi Kumar Sharma suggested that the collection could deepen a reader’s sense of aesthetics and offer younger audiences a truer understanding of love—something he feels has become distorted in the present day. Dr. Shiv Shankar Awasthi, General Secretary of the Authors Guild of India, added that the poems reflect lived experience while introducing a sense of freshness to current poetic trends.

Speaking on behalf of the publisher, Ashok Gupta shared that the demand for translations of Arora’s previous collections into various languages suggests this book too will soon reach readers in multiple linguistic traditions.

The event was jointly conducted by lyricists Sonia Aks Sonam and Aviral Abhilash, with the vote of thanks delivered by Acharya Anmol. The audience included several writers, researchers, and journalists from Delhi and nearby regions, marking the occasion as a meaningful literary gathering.