Champaca Musings

A view from inside the Champaca bookhouse (altered image on the right corner to remove yours truly)

How the poem came to be:

During my latest trip to Bangalore, I couldn't skip the mandatory pilgrimage to Champaca Bookstore Library & Cafe - a dreamy, surreal haven for book lovers. Lost in the moment, nestled between shelves and the cafe's ambient charm, I scribbled my first draft titled "Champaca Musings." The words just flowed onto the Notes app, capturing whatever feelings bubbled up. What I'm sharing now has gone through several rounds of edits and revisions since that inspired afternoon.

Champaca Musings

There's a tranquil hum as

The quiet settles in this altered air,

I detach from all the despair.

Amongst the thick spines

multiple universes unfurl,

a mindful moment with a book, I curl.

It is everything but a mundane space

with muses not of lack;

potential of poetry on a hidden track.

A window opens wide, and welcomes

A wave from the purple flowered tree;

Engages the spirits of ideas on a spree.

Sipping the lemon ginger ale

with fizzy dreams, a silent throng

etch their memories to carry lifelong.

Staff-written footnotes

and the hot-chocolate filled mugs

are the silent hugs.

Impatient hands penning a poem,

despite the distant honks; a muted plea

in current reality.

By Shruthi Jothsana ©