Whispers of the Heart. Voices in Verse by Taronish Patel. Published in 2025 by BookLeaf Publishing, 2E/25, Jhandewalan Extension, Block E2, New Delhi, 110055. Pp: 123. Price: Rs 250 (on Amazon India), AUD 16 (on Amazon Australia).
Whispers of the Heart Voices in Verse is a collection of poems written by Taronish Patel, a chartered accountant who, we are told, has worked in several countries. The poems have been described as "deeply introspective” and the collection has won the 21st Century Emily Dickinson Award. This honor comprises a series of awards given by BookLeaf Publishing in a writing challenge where authors have 21 days to write a book, notes Google.
In her Preface, Patel mentions that poetry has helped her make sense of the world and the present collection is reflection on the ephemeral moments and experiences "shaped by love, faith, gratitude, delirious joy, grief, conflict, resilience, hope, renewal and growth.”
Taronish Patel: personal poems
The poems are very personal and are carefully crafted. The subjects are neither revolutionary nor earth shattering, but in her own quiet way Patel speaks about themes which are very close to her heart. There is a charming light touch to the poems which are often a pleasure to read. In "The Weave of Luck and Destiny,” Luck resides in the spin of a coin or the throw of dice:
"She shifts like the wind, with fickle might,
A glance of fortune, a sudden light.”
Destiny, on the other hand, is described in a solemn and ponderous manner, "She waits in the shadows, deep and still.” But what is their relationship, Patel asks? Are they friends or enemies? Who determines our lives? Is it luck or destiny?
The heart and the mind are both at loggerheads in "A Tumultuous Tango.” The mind is logical, careful, sharp. The heart, on the other hand, is wild, passionate and uncontrolled by reason. Whereas the mind is cautious and demands sense, the heart counters the argument that "To live, one must feel.” But, finally, Patel concludes:
"...Wisdom lives where feelings bloom,
And the heart and mind find shared room.”
In "The Power of Prayer,” Patel uses free verse. She agrees that prayer neither alters the sun nor stops the tides but that "it reshapes the air within the soul.” The one who prays may not change the world, but he:
"emerges —
lighter,
stronger,
Unbroken.”
Patel creates some variety in the poems by occasionally using rhyme and meter and sometimes free verse. In the preface, she admits that though she likes "experimenting” with free verse, she feels that writing in rhyme is more challenging as the imposition of boundaries compels her to be more "inventive.” Most of the lines of verse have eight syllables which sometimes makes the poems seem a bit monotonous. Occasionally, one feels that Patel sacrifices the meter to force the rhyme. In "Life as a Balance Sheet,” the first line has seven syllables whereas the second has eight, the third has nine and the last has 10:
"Life is like a balance sheet,
With assets, debts and moments sweet.
Each day we tally, each choice we make,
A ledger where both joy and heartache stake.”
One wonders if Patel has sacrificed meter to rhyme. The last line seems awkward with the use of the word "stake” which seems to be a forced rhyme.
Most of her poems have end-stopped lines each ending with a comma or a full stop where the meaning ends with the last word. This seems to be the case with her poems in rhyme as well as in blank verse. It would have been interesting to see the result had she experimented more with the form.
However, one must praise Patel for the volume of poetry she has produced. Poetry is not an easy form and, for a first volume, Patel has done a remarkable job. She shows promise and will certainly have a bright future. F. G.