swifts  &  s l o w s · a quarterly of crisscrossings

shared virasat
Teji Sethi and Kashiana Singh

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Shared Virasat
Threads that run through us …

tempering
sarson-ka-saag
his last meal (K)

besides his bed
a Heer Ranjha
bookmarked for me (T)

train journey
bringing home
home (K)

taking me
into its shade
an old bargad (T)

95 years
her eyes as deep
as Beas (K)

tandoor
a charred past
on both sides (T)

wand chakko
scattering ashes
across borders(K)

fenced post
what if I were
a myna (T)

phulkari shawl
embroidering darkness
and light(K)

yaar julaahe
teach me to mend
these torn lands (T)

NASA image
a celestial echo
of ghazals(K)

Ramadan month
living on faith
dawn to dusk (T)

chitta baaz
the wingspan
of 75 years (K)

diya salai
they set blood
against blood (T)

my mojari
and your khussa
unwalked miles(K)

madhaniyan
churning grief
this baisakhi (T)

cities smolder
in sherbet colors
sipping roohafza(K)

tonga ride
the heart of Lahore
beats within me(T)

fingerprints
their ittar lingers
in my bones(K)

wringing breath
from the waters of Raavi
vichhode (T)

intezaar
stitching tales together
thread by thread (K)

kaccha ghada
crumbles to dust
I am reborn (T)

rasam pagri
that constant weight
on my heart(K)

charhdi kala
seeding a home
in the new soils(T)

baisakhi
another reordering
of our world(K)

raag malhar
barren farmlands
brim with hope(T)

Radcliffe line
the silent fissures
on dadi’s palms(K)

heirloom bagh
her epitaph engraved
in silk (T)

chaand raat
sighs of our ancestors
now celestial flutes(K)

dar b dar
a neem sapling spouts
on no man’s land (T)

aaghaz
cataloguing pain
in journal entries(K)

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“It is often said that the journey of human life is complete when we find our ancestors. One can encounter this lineage in history, genealogy tests, facts and data, museums, and music but most of all one can find lineage in each other through language. Teji Sethi and Kashiana Singh are both children of parents who lived through the tragedy, truth, and trauma of the India – Pakistan Partition in1947. One of the most momentous displacements in history, the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two countries of India and Pakistan left nearly 20 million displaced, approx. 2 million killed, and masses fleeing to opposite directions depending on their religion and faith. Muslims turned West, and Hindus and Sikhs fled East. All communities left behind their roots, friendships, families, and cultural connections and were forced to start fresh. The haunting of personal, political, cultural, and social disruption continues just like any intergenerational trauma tends to. This brief, redacted form of a haiku poem documents memories, stories, and nuggets received through their families.” – Kashiana Singh & Teji Sethi

Teji Sethi is a widely published haikai poet and disciple. She is the author of “Uncharted Roads” (2020) and “Moss Laden Walls” (2021). As the founding editor of Triya, a bilingual micro poetry journal, Teji follows a path of art, poetry, and language uniquely. She also harvests life experiences by sharing positive vibrations across her social and personal communities.

Kashiana Singh is a TEDx speaker and author of three poetry collections. Her chapbook “Crushed Anthills” is a loco poetic journey. Her full-length collection called “Woman by the Door” was released in 2022 with Apprentice House Press. She is looking forward to her newest collection, “Witching Hour” coming out with Glass Lyre Press, Chicago in 2024.