Tell Me, Please...: A Review by Prof S. A. Hamid

[Chauhan, Abnish Singh. Tell Me, Please…. New Delhi: Authorspress, 2025. Pp. 96. Price: Rs. 295/-. ISBN: 978-93-6095-309-6]

Reviewed by Prof. S. A. Hamid

Writing about the poetry of Chauhan, Marie Shine observes: “As a poet, Abnish builds a bridge between his readers and the world of poetry. From the very title of his poems, he captures their attention and holds it until the final word” (Chauhan 21). There is no doubt that the poems of Chauhan capture the attention of the reader from the beginning to the end. Take, for instance, ‘Poetry’ which begins with the lines:

Poetry,

you are---

the atoms of the cosmic yajna,

from which

the world is born. (Chauhan 35)

After two more stanzas of images drawn from nature, the poem ends with the lines:

You are everything,

or everything exists within you---

the samskar of humanity,

etched on the earth

till date. (Chauhan 35)

The poem reminds us of the exalted notion of poetry that Wordsworth expounds in his famous preface to Lyrical Ballads.

In another poem, ‘May I Know?’, in which he assumes the role of a poem, asking questions from the poet:

I know---

I am neither Nachiketa

nor Arjuna,

yet a question

stirs within me:

‘why did you create me?’ (Chauhan 38)

This monologue between the poet and the poem ends on an uncertain note in which the poet remains silent:

May I know

my dear poet---

why do you refuse

to speak to me?

Am I not worthy

to learn, unlearn, and relearn? (Chauhan 39)

In the above poem, the academic in Chauhan surfaces, as is evident in the last line of the poem. This happens with most academics who write poetry.

Chauhan has written poems on a wide range of topics. In his poem on time, by the same title, he muses on a topic that has engrossed poets and thinkers alike for ages. Here, he presents time as a gambler ‘playing a game/on his table’. He is an expert gambler, an eternal one too:

He knows

when to place the bet,

how to time each move,

and how to claim victory

as the final step. (“Time” 41)

Chauhan has written a moving poem on those young men who travel to foreign lands in search of career and money. Once there they have no time even to attend and perform their father’s last rites, and send money instead. The indifference of these young men towards their parents disturbs the poet:

He earned a fortune,

gathered a crown of fame,

but could not return

to the humble embrace of his home,

where his mother,

lost in the fog of time,

searching for the shadow of her son

until the end of her days.

Is the path too long,

from America to the village,

or is the world itself

simply shifting this way

in the modern age? (“A Journey” 44-45)

This is a disturbing question that haunts many people in our nation. India is known for family bonds, values and love. Such incidents hit at the root of our family system and a poet, who is a sensitive human being, cannot keep himself from empathizing with such people, Chauhan being no exception.

Chauhan is also alive to social issues like patriarchy, the emphasis on a male child, which obviously is not in the hands of a woman, but she is the one who is blamed for it:

She recollects---

when she came

to her husband’s home,

many visitors,

including some women,

who never tired

of singing her praises,

now turn away,

wrinkling their noses.

And those

who had once blessed her,

gathered in that moment,

are now the ones

who wound her with taunts,

day after day,

for not bearing a son. (“The Mother” 61)

In another poem, he mocks at the concept of ‘progress’ as practiced in today’s world. He seems to indicate that such progress is not holistic:

Then,

thumb impressions

were used,

inking documents

to prove

our identity.

Now,

fingerprints

are scanned

on biometric machines,

digitally recording

our presence.

Is this all the progress

we have made so far? (“Progress” 66)

Chauhan has also written a few romantic poems. In ‘Gentle Touch’ for instance, the beloved’s embrace melts his ego, her kiss unwinds his stress:

Is it the quiet surrender

of one heart to another,

flowing with golden love,

or simply

the magic of your presence? (Chauhan 89)

Often, the poet asks questions through his poems, and hidden in these questions are the answers. In the above poem, the last stanza, quoted above, seems to imply that both the options are valid.

However, despite so many ills that plague our society, Chauhan’s faith in India’s philosophical and spiritual heritage remains undiminished. In moments of crisis, he turns to Lord Krishna to show him the right path, to dispel the darkness that is within:

You said

in the Bhagvad Gita---

“You also dwell within.”

I search for You there too,

day and night,

but only find

endless darkness.

O help me Giridhari,

in becoming vijanatah---

one who knows You,

and the unique colours of

one’s own soul. (“On Holi” 91-92).

Chauhan’s poetry is an example of how simplicity of expression can touch readers’ hearts. He uses homely similes and metaphors to put forward his point. It is the poetry of a man who raises questions on social and philosophical issues, and tries to find their answers; a man who has great sympathy for human suffering; a man who has unwavering faith in our spiritual heritage. His poetry holds promise and his next book of poems, which I’m sure poetry lovers look forward to, will continue to provide deep insight into human life.

Courtesy:

Hamid, S. A. “Review of Tell Me, Please…, by Abnish Singh Chauhan.” Contemporary Vibes, vol. 21, no. 82, Jan.–Mar. 2026, pp. 56–58. ISSN 0975-1750.

About the Reviewer:

Syed Ali Hamid, retired Professor of English from Kumaun University, Almora, has served as Head of the Department and Dean of the Faculty of Arts. A native of Lucknow and long-time resident of the Kumaun hills, he received Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy Award in 1989 for his Urdu translation of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. His poetry collections include Autumn Rainbow (1993), No Man’s Land (2003), Desire, Ultimately (2013), The Ontology of Desire: New and Selected Poems (2015), and The Alchemy of Ageing (2021). He lives at ‘Ehsas’, Ranidhara Road, Almora–263601 (Uttarakhand), and can be contacted at syedali.hamid2@gmail.com.