Even God Needs Work to Do: A Book of Poems

By Satish Chandran Pillai

By the time I was six, my father, a hobbyist in palmistry, was
convinced I was a "born artist". That prompted him to enrol me
in one of Chennai's reputed institutions in classical dancing.
The sensitivities I gained thereafter through the training I
received in two different classical dance forms, followed by my
pursuits in singing, acting, photography,
craft, public speaking, painting and a
career in advertising, eventually found
common ground in poetry-writing. Dance,
in particular, did much to influence my
feelings about the Supreme Being whose
implied presence in many of my poems,
finds its way through praise, loving
complaint and even frustration.
I think this world is beautiful notwithstanding the pain, poverty
and persecution because the goodness overwhelms what is bad.
I see beauty in the most ordinary things in life even as I walk
by on the road. In fact, many of the poems I have written have
been inspired by the endearing sights I have been exposed to on
the roadside.
I am greatly troubled to think that I should soon be gone --- there
are too many things to see, love, admire, ponder over and enjoy
on this earth! This book of poems, to say the least, is an open,
unstoppable celebration of life!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Feb 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781543706581

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 by Satish Chandran Pillai.

ISBN:      Softcover         978-1-5437-0659-8

                 eBook              978-1-5437-0658-1

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Illustrations by the author

Graphics and format by Sanjay Shinde

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

Remembering

My adorable, little granddaughter, Mahi, whose beautiful innocence was the inspiration for three poems in this book

My affectionate family of my dear wife, Nutan and two adorable, sensitive, grown-up daughters, Mridula and Malavika who I shared all my poems with (along with my only sister) and without whom I could never have imagined a life on this earth

My encouraging eldest, artist brother, Sonny – ever-helpful, brilliant elder brother, Rajan – my beautiful, inspiring younger sister, Nirmala and her husband, Ravi – very much a brother too!

All loving members of my extended family

My sensitive, intelligent student, Anushka Samant, I was happy to share some of my poems with

Foreword

Who would have thought that my dear brother would finally bare his soul – a soul plagued by imaginary monsters and phantoms of raging self-doubt and indecisiveness, twisted in shackles of unending procrastination!  Dear brother, shake off your insecurities, stand tall and lay out your wares, I tell him.  The poems are like chants in praise of the Creator, in praise of big things and little things that lay on the wayside, unnoticed.  They take people on a much-needed journey in life to appreciate the mundane and ordinary, to make life and living more meaningful.  He is an artist in every sense of the word – the way he sees things, the way he thinks, the way he writes, the way he imagines, the way he makes you wonder.  The words are subtle and tender, masterfully crafted with such sensitivity that it makes one