The Poetic Minimalism of "Yellow" by Sukrita Paul Kumar

Small is Beautiful: The Poetic Minimalism of Yellow by Sukrita Paul Kumar

Published by Sahitya Akademi, 2024

ASIN: B0DHZXDXH2

Language: English, pp.1288

The collection Yellow: Poemlets New and Earlier by Sukrita Paul Kumar is a luminous tribute to the quiet, tender, and evocative moments that define human existence. The yellow flowers of the Amaltas on the cover page justify the title of the book in both colour and symbolism—bright yet transient, delicate yet compelling. Just as the Amaltas blossoms cascade in golden sprays, the poemlets unfold like petals—small, layered, and deeply evocative.

The subtitle, Poemlets New and Earlier, suggests a gathering of poetic pieces across time, yet they are unified by the poet’s distinctive voice and vision. The term “poemlets” denotes little verses, and Kumar’s preference for this nomenclature is both deliberate and meaningful. In her preface titled Poemlets in Communication, she notes that poemlets are “somewhat incomplete” in structure, yet they “locate a home in the reader’s mind and get a sense of wholeness.” This speaks to the dynamic, relational quality of poetry—where what is left unsaid becomes just as vital as what is expressed.

The collection comprises 37 poemlets, each a compact yet vivid burst of language and image. What is striking is how Kumar uses brevity to her advantage. These are not minimalistic poems in the traditional sense but rather meditative fragments—distilled and self-contained, yet always reaching outward to connect. Each poemlet feels like a thought suspended in time, inviting the reader to pause, reflect, and feel.

Kumar’s poetry reveals a deep engagement with the images of everyday life, memory, history, and above all, nature. Her verses often read like brushstrokes—careful, spontaneous, and emotionally resonant. A powerful example is found in the opening poemlet Buddha in the Neighbourhood, where she writes:

“clouds of haze / melt the mountain / with Buddha’s hum.”

“Buddha in grey stone / melting in / white peace.”

These small verses, in its minimalism, captures the essence of serenity and the omnipresence of wisdom. Later, in the poemlet titled Silence, the poet refers again to the Buddha:

“silence belongs to Buddha / all joy held in the aura / noiselessly.”

Silence is a recurring presence in this collection. It functions not as a void, but as a vessel of meaning. These silences—embedded between images and metaphors—are like pearls strung across the verse. They are moments where the poem breathes and the reader listens. Kumar’s silences are meditative, often imbued with peace and wisdom, reminding one of the stillness at the heart of all great art.

While some poemlets draw from spiritual or philosophical depths, others are rooted in worldly emotions—longing, loss, memory, and human connection. In one such piece titled Generation gap, Kumar evokes the vastness of emotional distance through oceanic imagery:

“I cannot fathom / this ocean between us / the ocean filling up with / alligators, big fish, sharks and all / corals and weeds / going in circles / with elephantine waves / gushing over them / round and round / over and over.”

With minimal words, Kumar conjures a vivid underwater world teeming with life, danger, and metaphor. The ocean here becomes a metaphor for emotional overwhelm—its waves echoing cycles of pain and connection, separation and understanding. This is a hallmark of Kumar’s style: rich imagery nestled in deceptively simple language.

Another poignant example of Kumar’s empathy and subtlety is found in the poemlet Awareness:

“the blind pair of / man and wife / had two little babies / with eyes that saw the world / the father the mother who / showed them the way / with their walking sticks.”

This short yet powerful piece quietly celebrates resilience, familial love, and interdependence. The reversal of roles—where sighted children are guided by blind parents—is gently rendered, inviting readers to reflect on what it means to “see” and to “lead.” It is in such moments that Kumar’s poetry reveals its ethical and emotional depth, encouraging awareness not only of the outer world but also of the inner moral compass.

The organic interconnectedness of the poemlets is another of the book’s strengths. Though each stands on its own, there are thematic and emotional threads that subtly link them. A reader might find an image in one poemlet that unexpectedly resonates with another on a later page. These threads form an intricate, quiet web across the collection—a kind of poetic symbiosis.

Reading Yellow is akin to walking through a quiet garden of thought—each bloom (or poemlet) distinct, yet harmonized in tone. Some are imbued with wisdom, some spark curiosity and wonder, while others pulse with life and quiet intensity. What binds them all is the poet’s ability to draw the reader into a shared space of contemplation.

Kumar’s strength lies in her attentiveness to small things—the fleeting, the marginal, the easily overlooked. Whether it is a passing cloud, a leaf in motion, or a moment of stillness, she captures the poetic essence in everyday life. Her language is not ornamental but precise and intentional. It is this restraint that gives the collection its emotional depth and spiritual reach.

In a world overwhelmed by noise and excess, Yellow offers a space for introspection. It affirms that poetry need not be loud to be powerful, and that even the smallest of verses can carry the weight of profound meaning. Sukrita Paul Kumar’s Yellow: Poemlets New and Earlier is a quietly dazzling collection, where every word is measured, every silence meaningful, and every poemlet a universe in itself.

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About the Reviewer

Dr. Anand Mishra is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Satyawati College (Evening), University of Delhi.