Nupur Maskara's Blog, page 4

Snake in My Skull: NaPoWriMo 2023 Day 1

A snake of thoughts slithers through my skull hissing. Its forked tongue springs out venom tipped words biting my relationships. Thanks NaPoWriMo for this book cover related prompt! The Spooky Book cover is surreal...

Atwood, Margaret: An Iconic Woman Poet

I first came across Margaret Atwood in college. We studied a few of her poems. Her simplicity seemed too simple, and I thought if she can get published, so can I. I also read...

The Melting of Mount Kailash

A butterfly in Brazil flaps her wings. Air waves crest to Mount Kailash. Ganga,  flowing from Shiva’s matted hair, has dried, breaking his yogic trance. No longer will  Nilakantha drink up the poisonous effluents ...

A 2 Z International Theme Reveal

I’m planning my theme around poets. I’m going to prioritize women poets. Where I can’t find one matching the letter, I’ll highlight a male poet. I’m going to include AE Stallings, Wendy Cope, Linda...

First Workshop! Women Poets in India, for IWWG

I’m doing a workshop for the International Women’s Writing Guild on Women Poets in India, as part of their Women’s History Month. Here are the details – India is the world’s largest democracy, but...

‘Mantra Waterfall’ Poem Published

I’d written a poem about a Rudra puja done by Art of Living priests, and brought it for critique to The Poetry Salon. Cameron Morse had given feedback on it, and I reworked it....

‘The Gods Slingshot Us for Sport’ Poem Published

After watching the film Ludo, in which God plays ludo with humans as checkers, I got the idea for this poem. Inspiration struck in the gym, and I wrote the poem in one shot....

How I wrote a novel in NaNoWriMo

I successfully took part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2019. I had taken part once earlier in college, but had not plotted my novel, so I ran out of steam after a...

Two Poems Published in Last Leaves Magazine

Two old poems of mine finally found a home in Last Leaves Magazine. I liked the edit they suggested for one – adding a word to make the syllable count fit that of a...

NaPoWriMo 2021 Poems

You call me spicy But you try to Deseed me. A Letter to Jhansi Ki Rani Dear Jhansi ki Rani,Thank you for inspiring me in my childhoodYou were the lone female hero in my...