The following poem by Nandana Sen won the first prize in Wingword Poetry Competition 2022
Nandana writes Daybreak dedicated to her beloved grandmother. She pens down some significant details of her memories of the relationship she has with her grandmother. She recalls how her grandmother would laugh like a girl as Nandana and perhaps her siblings or cousins would listen to the foghorn blows and the way she dealt with the numerous rounds of playing cards until the day broke. She writes how grandma would mercilessly pull her out of bed on Mahalaya dawn and she would sleepily listen to prayers. Even though she would be half asleep, she remembers that her grandmother knew each verse by heart. Nandana has memories of her grandmother disapproving of all-nighters before exams and how she would scold her to go to bed. She writes about all the memories she had with her grandmother and how she thinks of all the times she missed the early mornings with her because she would go to bed before her grandmother began her day.
Daybreak is a poem filled with emotions Nandana has for her grandmother. It states quite beautifully the difference of schedules between her and her grandmother. The poem gives out a feeling to the reader that she felt safe around her grandmother as she was there to look after her. It was her grandmother who presented her with religion by pulling her out of bed on Mahalaya dawn. This poem reminds us of our grandmothers who have showered us with so much love. As a child, we learn a lot about life from our grandparents. They impart us with great lessons and manners of life. The poem also highlights how there comes a gap between us and our grandparents. While the poet went to her bed, her grandmother was just starting her day.
(For my grandmother, Radharani Debi)
Whenever I think of you
I think of all the early mornings
how you laughed like a girl
as we listened
for the cannon to fire
and the foghorns to blow
on New Year’s eve
eyes sparkling,
you dealt us round after round
as hearts and diamonds
slipped through our fingers all night —
kings and queens, knaves and clowns
waiting impatiently
for the first day to break
how you pulled us out of bed
with no mercy
on Mahalaya dawn —
we huddled near the radio
half asleep, scalded by tea,
until airwaves all around us
exploded into heady prayer
like a rush of steam
rising up from every home on our street
you knew each verse by heart
and every year Ma cried
when the goddess was born
how you loved to march with us
like a drillmaster
on your morning walk,
grumbling, we dragged our groggy feet
to the dry fountain where,
years ago,
you had arranged Ma’s girlhood parties —
you paused near the shiuli, trying to bend,
and in a flash
we were groping wet earth, grabbing
orange-tipped fragrance in the fog,
greedy, and impossibly awake
how you walked into my room
with unsteady steps
on the winter nights of my finals
“To bed!” you scolded, even as
I muttered formulas I’d never follow
and dozed over tea-stained history
you denounced all-nighters
but you stayed up with me
every night
until we heard the prayers from the mosque
echo in our hearts
through coal smoke
how you clutched your magnifying glass
as I tiptoed past you, asleep in your chair,
during my summer break —
you never stopped reading the fine print,
while I
couldn’t even see how that big sky
was magnifying pink shapes
everywhere in bold,
as I stumbled into bed
unsteadier than you
just before
you would start your day
whenever I think of you
I think of all the early mornings
I missed
About the poet
A writer, child-rights activist, and an award-winning actor, Nandana Dev Sen is the author of six children’s books, translated into more than 15 languages globally, and two collections of her translations of the poetry of her mother, Nabaneeta Dev Sen. She grew up in India, England and America, and has starred in 20 feature films from four continents (and in multiple languages). Nandana’s first book Kangaroo Kisses was selected by 320 UK nurseries as a “Book of Excellence,” and her interactive workshops have been loved, in person, by more than 30,000 young people across the world.
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University (where she won the Detur Book Prize as well as the John Harvard Scholarship and Elizabeth Agassiz Prize each year) and studying filmmaking at the USC School of Cinema-Television, Nandana worked as a book editor, a screenwriter, a translator, an advocate for child protection, and as Princess Jasmine in Disneyland. The winner of several Best Actress awards, the Wingword Poetry Prize, as well as the Last-Girl Champion Award for lifetime achievement in child protection, Nandana has served on numerous child-rights commissions and juries of global film festivals and international literary prizes (including the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature). As an advocate and ambassador, she has represented such prominent organizations as UNICEF, Operation Smile, RAHI, Apne Aap International, and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, to fight against child abuse and to end human trafficking.
Nandana is the Child Protection Ambassador for Save the Children India, a global Author Advocate for Girls' Education for Room to Read, and a Director of the Women’s Refugee Commission, New York, where she serves on the Program and Advocacy Committee.
Nandana can be reached on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (all three at Nandana Dev Sen), as well as LinkedIn. For news and updates, please swing by www.nandanadevsen.com.