Portrait of an author: Arvind Krishna Mehrotra

Arvind Krishna Mehrotra

Indian poet, critic, translator

Last published: ‘Collected Poems, 1969-2014’ (Ravi Dayal Publisher/Penguin Books India)

Where Will The Next One Come From

The next one will come from the air

It will be an overripe pumpkin

It will be the missing shoe

The next one will climb down

From the tree

When I’m asleep

The next one I will have to sow

For the next one I will have

To walk in the rain

The next one I shall not write

It will rise like bread

It will be the curse coming home

From Distance In Statute Miles (Clearing House, 1982)

This is the first in a 12-part series of portraits selected for Lounge by Rohit Chawla, who has photographed over 200 authors at the Jaipur Literature Festival over a decade. Chawla’s exhibition, The Inspired Frame, by Tasveer opens on 9 March at Bikaner House, Delhi.