Although the Covid-19 pandemic was nothing short of a dystopian reality, it inadvertently became a space for individuals to develop interests that might’ve otherwise eluded them. Author of Tween Twilight, 16-year-old Veruschka Pandey, who began writing during the lockdown, shares a teenager’s perspective on pressing contemporary issues in her recent book, The Quiet Geometry of Chaos (Sapna Ink, ₹180). Daughter of Pankaj Kumar Pandey, managing director at Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited, and prominent influencer Anuja Pandey, Veruschka is a student at The International School Bangalore.
The Quiet Geometry of Chaos is a collection of free-verse poems where the author explores emotions and identities in the context of social structures by empathising with individuals in diverse situations. Be it the perspective of a civilian in war or a student living in a fractured world, there’s a poem describing it all. “I like to think that my poetry is also a form of activism instead of just emotions because it includes things about the environment, racism, societal burdens, and feminism,” she shares.
The book also narrates stories visually rather than being confined textually. Admiring one of the illustrations by Ruvina D’Silva that accompany her poem ‘A Candle’, she says, “This poem is about how we act as an inspiration or act as light in someone else’s lives as human beings. And so the illustration shows a girl with a flame on her head. The metaphor and the imagery are shown visually here.”
Pandey is an active participant in debates and an advocate for social issues of public health and gender. She aspires to bring in social advocacy through poetry; hoping that her readers have a similar takeaway, she says, “I want readers to take away a sense of responsibility for everything going on around us. I want people to also carry a sense of understanding and kindness. Because if a teenager is able to put themselves in the perspective of other people, why can’t we all, as a society, start to think for others, not just ourselves?”