Celebrating 4 years of The Alipore Post

Hello!

I'm extremely humbled by the reality that four years ago to this date, I started an emailer called The Alipore Post! :D Happy Anniversary to The Alipore Post!

For those of you who are curious, Alipore, Calcutta was where I was staying at the time and I found solace in poetry and art + it's Post because I love the intimacy and tradition of letter writing. The initial idea of the newsletter was to simply share the gems I was discovering online and in books with others. However, the project is now so much bigger than me! In many ways, I too have evolved manifold as a human being, curator, poet and doodler in the past four years = 1460 days that have been nothing short of extraordinary.

GIF by Catana Comics

I want to personally thank each and every one of you who have been a part of this beautiful journey, be it actively or silently. Thank you for the trust in my work, which has naturally ebbed and flowed. :) I genuinely can't wait to see what comes next, be it on the website, newsletter or some other platform that presents new opportunities!

In the meantime, here's a delightful poem I re-read after a long time and which resonated deeply, along with this charming illustration by Isabelle Feliu:

Antilamentation by Dorianne Laux

Regret nothing. Not the cruel novels you read
to the end just to find out who killed the cook.
Not the insipid movies that made you cry in the dark,
in spite of your intelligence, your sophistication.
Not the lover you left quivering in a hotel parking lot,
the one you beat to the punchline, the door, or the one
who left you in your red dress and shoes, the ones
that crimped your toes, don't regret those.
Not the nights you called god names and cursed
your mother, sunk like a dog in the livingroom couch,
chewing your nails and crushed by loneliness.
You were meant to inhale those smoky nights
over a bottle of flat beer, to sweep stuck onion rings
across the dirty restaurant floor, to wear the frayed
coat with its loose buttons, its pockets full of struck matches.
You've walked those streets a thousand times and still
you end up here. Regret none of it, not one
of the wasted days you wanted to know nothing,
when the lights from the carnival rides
were the only stars you believed in, loving them
for their uselessness, not wanting to be saved.
You've traveled this far on the back of every mistake,
ridden in dark-eyed and morose but calm as a house
after the TV set has been pitched out the upstairs
window. Harmless as a broken ax. Emptied
of expectation. Relax. Don't bother remembering
any of it. Let's stop here, under the lit sign
on the corner, and watch all the people walk by

Feel free to write in with feedback/recommendations, share your work, send collaboration ideas or work proposals to thealiporepost@gmail.com

Also, I intend to do this as a lifelong project. So here's to many, many more anniversary specials! :D

Cheers and Good Night,
Rohini Kejriwal aka The Alipore Post