Patented Nirvana

Re-reading these poems—and for the first time together in a bunch—I see a poet who left only some tasting portions of his largely unexplored poetic possibilities. Here we have tongue-in-cheek ones, near-mystical ones, A.K. Ramanujan-esque ones, and some which show the anguish of a '70s idealist forced to step into and deal with the LPG era. You see a hint of autobiography in a rare one like "The Law Keeper." There are two interesting poems centered around bipolar disorder. He was, in fact, the first person I met who spoke so openly about mental health issues. My particular favorites are poems where "round" women—ones who refuse to sit in square holes—take centerstage. Some credit for this should go to all those feisty women he was surrounded by, who would have eaten him raw if he had allowed a single stereotypical depiction to sneak in. "Breathless" and "Wines," though vastly different in style, are my cherished ones.

This is perhaps no place for a sentimental, personal account. But I have to acknowledge that Ramesh taught me to read the world through lenses I was unaccustomed to. He taught me to put commas in the right places (which can vastly change your worldview!) and opened my eyes to many Bengalurus I did not know existed through all those guided tours of pete areas. If my sluggish memory serves me right, poems like "Dhobhi Ghat" and "Sigh" were inspired by some of those outings. In more ways than I can recall, he helped me scrape away at least some middle-classness from my bones.

— S. Bageshree